Nameless Grave
by Shiro Chigo
Summary: Until now, Sora and the others have been able to get on with their own lives without a disturbance. A letter from the king, an artificial memory, and an all too familiar group of cloaked Nobodies are only the beginning of their problems. Discontinued.
1. Chapter One Destiny Calls

Chapter One Destiny Calls

The sun was shining. The sea breeze swept through the golden sands and lush palms that lay scattered around the lonely isles. In the horizon was the endless sea that surrounded it. The door of a small shack opened and made a noise as it hit against the wall.

"Ugh…why does the sun have to be so bright?" said a sleepy teenage boy as he rubbed his eyes. He took a step outside onto the sand, closing the door. Everything was familiar to him. Often times he got a little bored with the island. This is where he lived his whole life until everything changed one night. He sighed.

"Hey Sora!" shouted a voice. Sora turned to a lone elevation of land that rose a couple feet from the ground. The figure of someone sitting on a curved palm could be seen in the sunlight. Sora covered his eyes with his arm before running towards that direction. His footsteps left imprints in the sand that were going to be washed away by the tides. He reached the area, leapt up high, but not high enough. He nearly slipped and fell, but managed to grab a hold of the ledge.

"Whoa!" he cried. A moment later, he felt a hand grab onto his and pulled him up with ease. He stood with Riku, his dear friend. He looked serious.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Sora. Riku's face remained the same. Sora let go of his friend's hand and for a couple seconds, all they did was stare. Then Riku's mouth twisted into a smile before he began to laugh. Sora could not help but do the same thing.

"What was that about?" asked Sora as he hopped on the palm he and his friends had sat on casually. It was a sort of hangout place for them. Riku went to join him.

"I don't know. It was weird," he said, trying to find a comfortable position.

"So what did you want?" asked Sora. Riku turned to him.

"Well, it was about time you woke up. You're sleeping in almost everyday."

Sora scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"Well, I…"

Riku looked at him and gave him a gentle kick. Sora almost fell off of his spot and grabbed a hold of the palm's trunk as quickly as possible.

"Hey!" he yelled, looking angrily at Riku.

"I just had to make sure if you were still awake," he replied with a chuckle. As he laughed he could see a shade of pink in the distance. It seemed to be coming closer. It was Kairi. She seemed eager to get to the two of them.

"Hey! You guys!" she yelled as she waved her hand in the air. She seemed to be holding something. Both of them turned towards her and jumped off the palm. Then they both leapt onto the sandy beach, making a splash in the low tide. Kairi stopped in front of them and paused to catch her breath. Riku crossed his arms and Sora eyed the slip of paper in her hand.

"You'll never believe what I just got!" she said excitedly. She held up the piece of paper so the two could see. It was an envelope with a very familiar green seal holding the flap down; the seal of King Mickey himself.

"Whoa! The King sent us a letter?!" exclaimed Sora. He too began to become excited. Riku sighed and shook his head at Sora.

"Let's not jump to conclusions before we even read it," he said looking to Kairi. She nodded and broke the seal, opening the envelope. She pulled out a folded sheet of paper flipped it open. Sora and Riku looked over her shoulder to read it. It said:

"Dear Sora and friends,

I have terrible news. I know we haven't spoken in quite a while, but I need your help one more. Worlds have begun to disappear again. The Heartless that prowl around are very few, but the Nobodies seem to have become stronger. I just can't understand it and you probably won't either. We witnessed you defeat Xemnas and the Organization, so I just can't believe the Nobodies are more organized and powerful. I need you to come to Hollow Bastion to meet with me and to discuss it with Leon and the others.

Sincerely,

King Mickey

P.S. Old friends are on the way!"

Sora was speechless, Riku looked serious, and Kairi stared at the letter. It was indeed something to ponder about. The Organization was defeated by Sora and his friends. They saw it happen; they even saw Xemnas disappear into the darkness. How could this be?

"This can't be real," said Kairi. Riku looked at her sternly.

"The King wouldn't lie. Something's up," he replied.

"It's not possible," said Sora. He looked down at the sand. The other two looked at him.

"Riku and I saw it happen. The Nobodies should've disappeared, right?" he asked.

"I don't know…remember, the Organization members weren't the source of Nobodies since they were Nobodies themselves," said Riku aloud.

"Oh…right," said Sora. He took the letter from Kairi and began to read it again.

"I think the question would what our mode of transportation would be," said Riku. He shrugged.

"I don't think a raft would get us very far."

"Hmm…maybe someone's picking us up?" asked Kairi.

"And who said you were coming along?" joked Riku.

"Hey! I want to come!"

"I was kidding."

The two bickered and Sora fell silent at the letter's words. He honestly had no idea how this was possible. He hoped it wasn't as bad as when the Heartless invaded. His own home disappeared. The sun was about the touch the water at the horizon as its sunlight became a smooth, orange color with hints of pink and red in the sky. The water was calm and the seagulls were quiet. That afternoon, they headed home. Sora couldn't sleep when the night came. He couldn't stop thinking about going to meet with King Mickey, Leon, and other unforgettable friends. He had changed into his pajamas and laid on his bed at a gentle breeze blew in from the open window. It was a bit chilly, but he did not react.

"I wonder when we'll leave?" he asked himself. He turned on the bed and covered himself with his blanket. He began to fall asleep after nearly an hour of anxiety. Two days passed by and everything seemed normal. In the middle of the third day, the three were sitting together on the bridge that held their boats. They were waiting for the "old friends" to arrive as they did the other days.

"Man, it's taking forever," said Riku. Kairi looked to the sky, shielding her eyes from sunlight trying to spot anything that looked like a ship. There was a motor-like sound in the distance.

"Hey…hey, you guys! I think I see something!" she cried. Sora and Riku stood up almost immediately and looked in her direction. The sound was getting closer.

"There!" said Kairi as she pointed towards the large vehicle coming their way. It seemed to make a beeline towards the open water right next to the bridge. Riku suddenly looked alarmed.

"Uh-oh, I think we'd better run!" he said, beginning to sprint towards the beach. Kairi gasped and followed and so did Sora. The ship was red with yellow stripes and looked as if it was just going to crash into the shore. It seemed to zigzag in all directions before suddenly halting, just above the water, then dropping with a small splash.

"…BAH!" screamed a nasally voice. The cockpit of the gummi ship burst open with a blast of lightning. Sora and the others were startled. A moment later, out jumped a familiar duck dressed in blue. His clothes were a little messy and dirty and he was panting angrily.

"GOOFY!" he shouted.

"Gwarsh…did you have to zap me with yer magic, Donald?" said a carefree voice. Out came Goofy, rubbing the back of his head. His hair was sticking up on end.

"YOU-!" pointed Donald. He suddenly felt eyes on him. He turned to see the three speechless teens. Sora stifled a laugh. Goofy was the first to speak.

"Sora!" he said, jumping out of the gummi ship and landing in the water. Donald recovered from his embarrassment and also called out to him with excitement.

"Donald! Goofy!" yelled Sora as he ran to meet them. When the three met each other they shared a hug. It's been a while since they had seen each other and they were glad to be working with each other again.

"So they were the 'old friends'," said Kairi, giggling. Riku nodded and couldn't help but smile as Donald began to bicker with Goofy again. Donald shook his head as if remembering something.

"Oh! That's right! We have to get you three to Hollow Bastion on the double!" he said, gesturing towards the ship. Sora looked to Riku and Kairi.

"Well? Come on! Let's hurry!" he said, running towards it. Donald jumped after him and Goofy stumbled behind. Riku and Kairi ran after the threesome and they all got themselves into the gummi ship. It was a bit crowded, but they could manage.

"Um…what happened a couple seconds ago?" asked Sora. Donald looked down and sighed.

"Don't ask me. The controls got a little bit messy and Goofy tried to take control of it and made it worse!" he said bitterly. Goofy laughed nervously and shrugged.

"Can we go now?" asked Kairi, looking anxious to get into the air.

"Sure! Let me just-"said Donald before seeing Sora's hand on the controls.

"HEY!" he cried.

"Don't worry, I've driven this loads of times, I won't crash," he said gleefully. Donald began to bicker again and Goofy joined in. Kairi urged them to get a move on and Riku was enjoying the little bit of chaos in the ship. Sora smiled before looking up into the sky, the gummi ship lifting itself off the water. A sense of adventure slithered into his mind and the gummi ship took off into the air. It was…nostalgia he felt and he was glad all of his friends were with him this time.

End of Chapter One


	2. Chapter Two Voice in the Dark

Chapter Two Voice in the Dark

It didn't take too long. The gummi ship had been installed with a warp gummi many months ago by Cid, a good friend of Sora's. Sora looked down at the place once named Hollow Bastion, now called Radiant Garden. The latter was its true name, but was only discovered recently. The people who lived here had come from other worlds that had previously been destroyed by the Heartless, though they are no longer much of a threat. They landed in an alleyway to avoid too much attention. Most of the people here don't believe there is any more threat of Heartless. Though there are a few occurrences where Heartless are abundant, but not enough have made the people worried. Sora was the first to jump onto the ground out of the gummi ship.

"Wow…this place hasn't changed at all," he said sounding bored. Everything was still in place as it has always been. The huge castle stood in all its glory in the horizon. It was once the place where a great and terrible sorceress had lived until Sora destroyed her. The others joined him.

"Well, Leon and the others aren't trying to change the place too much. The people that live here like it like this," said Goofy, walking awkwardly. The group headed down towards the residential area.

"It's been forever since I've been here," said Sora, putting his hands behind his head. There seemed to be no one around walking in the streets. It was…quiet.

"Heh…I guess the 'ghost town' feel still lingers around," said Kairi.

"Yeah, I've never seen it this deserted this last time we were here," replied Donald. The house they were looking for was just down the street; Merlin's. Before they reached it someone jumped off the roof and landed in front of them, surprising the group.

"Wah!" said Donald, falling backwards. The person in front of them was small…very small. He had a long, thing tail and two large, black ears. They were perfect circles on his head. He looked up and smiled. Donald and Goofy became ecstatic.

"King Mickey!" they both cried, scrambling towards him. He laughed and met the two in a conversation. Donald could hardly contain himself and Goofy couldn't find words to say. Mickey made them both calm down before turning and walking to Sora.

"Your Majesty," said Riku, bowing. Kairi waved and smiled.

"It's nice to see you three again," he said happily.

"It's good to see you too, King Mickey," said Sora.

"Hey! What about me?!" said a feminine voice angrily. Sora looked above Mickey to see a girl run out of the house and wave. It was Yuffie.

"Hey!" said Sora. Out from behind her came two other familiar faces; Leon and Aerith.

"You guys!" he said, running towards the house. Leon halted him.

"It's nice to see you, too, but we've got bigger fish to fry," he said coolly, turning to head back inside. Aerith laughed at him.

"Always the busy body," she said following him. Riku and Kairi followed her as did the king and his two loyal subjects. Sora scratched the back of his head, thinking the reunion would be much happier. He smiled with embarrassment before heading inside Merlin's house.

"Hey there!" said a scruffy blonde man. He turned around in his chair raising his hand. He had a toothpick in his mouth, had a white shirt and blue pants, and had a belt around his waist. It was Cid, the engineer.

"Yo," said Sora. Cid sat in front of a large computer screen with various ones watching the town in certain areas.

"You don't sound happy to see us," he said, shrugging.

"Hey! I am!" he retorted. Cid began to laugh, spinning around in the chair. As Sora took a look around, he could feel something poking at his backside. He turned to see a floating tea cup and jumped back, falling.

"Ah!"

The tea cup hovered around and onto a table located in the left side of the house. A very large chair sat by it and an old man in blue was in it. It was the wizard, Merlin. He chuckled.

"Hey, why is everyone picking on me today?" complained Sora, crossing his arms.

"Well, we haven't seen you in quite a while," said Aerith, holding both her hands behind her.

"We're just having fun," said Yuffie, smiling. Leon cleared his throat.

"And now…we have some business to attend to," he said, leaning against the wall. Sora nodded and King Mickey stood in the center of the group.

"Now…you three read my letter, huh? Well here's what we know so far," he began. Donald elbowed Goofy in the side to make him pay attention.

"Some worlds have disappeared in the past few weeks and I have no explanation for it. There seems to be no reason for them to simply go out of existence," he said grimly.

"We were talking about it a little before you got here," said Aerith. Cid stopped spinning and Merlin stood up as Mickey continued.

"And also, the Nobodies that lurk around seem to have become even stronger since the last time we dealt with them. We know it's impossible, but someone or something is making them more powerful. The thing that bothers me the most about this is…" he trailed. He seemed to stare outside the window with vigilant eyes.

"There have been sightings of people in black, hooded cloaks," he finished. Riku's attention was got and Kairi let out a soft gasp. Sora looked terrified.

"What?!" he cried.

"Yes, it was hard for us to believe it, too," said Yuffie. She stood by the window, checking for anything out of the ordinary.

"The sightings have been rare, but enough of them have forced us to act," said Merlin, fixing his glasses.

"But the thing is we don't have enough evidence to support our assumptions," said Leon. He turned towards Sora.

"So we're going to go around looking for clues?" asked Kairi.

"We all are. But while you're here, you might want to hang around a bit," said Yuffie. She opened the door and went outside, running off.

"You better watch yourself Sora," said Leon, following Yuffie. Sora pouted at the remark. He wasn't as reckless as he was back then that's for sure. Riku saw this and stifled a laugh.

"I'll stay here with Kairi. You should go for a walk. You haven't been here in a while and it may have changed," he said. Kairi was being awed by the floating silverware that hovered around here as Merlin chuckled and sipped some tea.

"I guess…I'll be on the look out for anything suspicious," he said before heading out the door. He shut it behind him before wandering around the area for a little while. He took glances around the houses nearby; seemingly empty and no life. It was really quiet except for the sound of footsteps Sora made himself. The wind blew gently.

"It's scary in a way…but the wind is relaxing," he said to himself. He walked up a small ramp up towards the Bailey. Seeing the large entrance made him remember that day he came here to meet Leon. It was one of his first encounters with the beings known as Nobodies. Empty shells of their Heartless counterparts; they were controlled by Organization XIII. Something stirred in the silence. Sora halted to a stop when he sensed it. He stood inside the Bailey and became alert as he looked all around it.

"…You."

Sora could hear it clearly. It was like someone was right nearby, but there was no life in sight.

"…What a pathetic key bearer."

Sora gritted his teeth. Who was there? How did he know about Sora? He considered that person a formidable enemy from the sound of his voice and cautiousness. But he wanted to at least see that person to confirm it. He suddenly felt his feet on air.

"What?!" he cried as he looked down; his feet were sinking into a portal of darkness. It was like quicksand; the more he struggled, the faster he'd sink. He felt the cold chill as he entered the abyss. Sora looked around frantically to see if anything was coming. He then saw at what he thought was "the bottom" and saw a rather large platform. It was a beautiful surface for Sora to stand upon; it was made of a collection of stained glass window images. There were three large circles; one above the other two. They were people, but they were cloaked…like the Organization. The top one looked serious and was unemotional. The one on the right held a hand on his chest and the other was looking towards the center of the circular platform. All three were hooded, their faces hidden. Though he had to time to marvel at them for Sora was not alone and he could sense it. There was a slight rumbling he could feel with his feet. It seemed to become more intense after every second until Sora lost his balance and fell forward onto his knees.

"What's happening?!" he said in his mind. Whatever was the source just jumped high into the air. Sora looked at it and what it was struck his mind. It was a giant silver-colored being; a Nobody. It was the Twilight Thorn. Sora held his hand up high and summoned with all his strength and it came to him; the Keyblade. When the Nobody saw this, it immediately sent a flurry of dark energy at him. Sora quickly reacted, following the trails of darkness leading towards the Nobody's head. Gripping the Keyblade tight in his hand he threw a mighty swing straight in its face. The Nobody was thrown back, but it orientated itself and sent forth another wave of darkness at Sora. Knowing full well the pattern of this foe, Sora merely followed the same action he did before and positioned himself right in front of its face and struck again. The Nobody seemed to shudder as paused for a moment. Sora landed on the ground and looked up. The Twilight Thorn's grip on the platform seemed to loosen as it began to fall back. Sora ran forward as it disappeared from sight and into the darkened abyss. Before Sora could reach the edge, he was hit with a flash of light, illuminating the darkness. He covered his eyes from the brilliant light and second later, Sora looked out from underneath his hands, his vision blurry. Is surroundings were familiar…

"Hey…I'm back," he said as he realized he was still in the Bailey. He took a moment to make sure as he looked around. He could still feel a presence.

"Wow…" said the voice. Sora jerked his head up.

"Where are you?!" he shouted. He balled his fists as he waited for an answer.

"…"

"Answer me!"

"I'm just surprised."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm surprised you could beat that Nobody, weakling."

"Shut up! I'm not weak!" screamed Sora. He still held the Keyblade in hand.

"Is that so?" said the voice. It was different this time. Instead of sounding ethereal and far-off…now it seemed like the source came from right in front of him. Sora looked forward to see a black wave of darkness manifest. From the threads of emptiness and dark energy came a man; he wore the cloak of the Organization but his hood was up.

"Who are you?! Are you apart of the Organization?!" he asked angrily. His grip on the Keyblade was taut and he gritted his teeth. The unknown man raised both his hands as if presenting something.

"The power…of the Keyblade…"

Sora went into a battle stance as the man spoke. The Organization was a tough foe indeed…but Sora shouldn't have any trouble, right?

"It is indeed a magnificent tool…"

"It will be when I kick your butt with it!" said Sora, pointing at him.

"You believe…yours is…the only one?" he asked, his voice sounding relaxing and soothing. Before Sora could answer, his outstretched hands emitted lights; in his right, a bright, flash and in his left, an oozing blackness. Sora looked onward to see two familiar Keyblades in his hands and he looked amazed; the right one was the Oathkeeper and the left, the Oblivion.

"Your skill with the blade…let's see it!" the man cried as he rushed at Sora.

End of Chapter Two


	3. Chapter Three Number Zero

Chapter Three Number Zero

Sora couldn't see the man; he moved so quickly. With the Oblivion in striking position, the man was about to get a sure-hit on him. But before he could land the attack, a bright flash came from Sora. He covered his eyes, but expected the impact and the pain, but nothing came. Sora peeked out from under his arm so see someone in front of him; it was as if someone was shielding him…

"You-!"

The man jumped back with a great leap. Sora could see him; it was Roxas.

"You came to help me?" he asked. Roxas didn't turn his head. He was looking intently at the cloaked man. Sora took a breather before focusing his attention on him as well. Roxas gripped his Keyblade and Sora did the same. They had no time to talk.

"Prepare yourself!" yelled Roxas.

"Hmm…"

The man rushed at Roxas, slashing at him with the Oathkeeper. He blocked the strike, but the following bolt of lightning that struck him knocked him away.

"Gah!"

Sora jumped into the air and slammed his Keyblade down onto the man's weapons, locking them. The man lifted his hand and released a flurry of flower petals that distracted Sora. He batted away at the petals with his hand, only to see a huge wall of fire come from in front of him.

"What?!" he said, jumping backwards. The flames gave chase while Roxas recovered from the last attack. The man turned towards him and his hand emitted a gray-colored light. Roxas ignored it and began to run towards him. Sora outran the wall of fire and also headed towards the man. He saw this and slammed his fist into the ground and a great surge of energy swept the earth and large chunks of rock were forced out from underneath, causing the two of them to lose their balance and get injured.

"He's…strong," said Sora in his mind. He held his right arm; it was hurt by the attack, but was still able to be of use. He looked over to Roxas who seemed to be fine. Roxas ran over to Sora and they both looked around the area, the man out of sight.

"You okay, Sora?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but where is he?" asked Sora.

"I can't tell…but those attacks…they're so familiar," he said grimly.

"Indeed they are," said a voice. Sora and Roxas looked for the source and turned around behind, but only to be met with a huge torrent of water. They were caught off guard and were blown back and onto the ground, hard. Roxas rolled back a few feet from Sora.

"Ah!"

Sora landed on his bad arm and it became worse.

"Here!" shouted Roxas as he threw something to Sora. He saw a hint of light before he realized what it was. It burst into a cloud of sparkles, falling onto him. As they made contact with his skin, he felt a warm sensation throughout his body. His arm felt numb for a moment, before he felt the pain melt away…

"Off guard again?" asked the man. Sora looked up to his target hover above in the air, launching fireballs down towards him with his Keyblades. Roxas was quick on his feet and blocked Sora from the attack with a quick burst of Reflega. The flames bounced off the magic barrier, but the man was just as quick. He snapped his fingers and a huge geyser erupted from underneath Roxas, launching him high into the air. He cried out as he felt himself begin to fall back down. The man was running towards him as he descended quickly, but Roxas felt his eyes were deceiving him; the man was running upside down in midair.

"Perish!" he shouted as he positioned the Oblivion in front of him, aiming at Roxas. A huge wave of dark energy burst from the Keyblade, impacting Roxas like an extremely heavy object struck him.

"Ah!"

He was blown back hard and he became limp. He just dropped down onto the ground and landed on his back; the ground beneath him cracking. He was still conscious, the pain leaving completely him immobile. He breathing became harder and faster as he tried to keep a grip on his Keyblade. The man appeared to him, standing in front of him. Sora shouted at him and began to run towards the man, his Kingdom Key in hand.

"Humph."

The man turned and disappeared. Sora continued to run and stopped by Roxas's side. He was struggling to stay awake.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Roxas smiled, but even that hurt him.

"Such weakness," said the man's voice. Sora looked behind him to see the man stand there, his weapons gone and his arms crossed. Sora was injured badly as well.

"Who are you?!" he shouted angrily. The man simply laughed.

"If you must have a label on me…you may call me…Number Zero," he said mockingly.

"Number Zero?" Sora whispered.

"Yes…I have gone…to many worlds," Zero began. He took a couple steps forward.

"Don't let him come to close…" said Roxas quietly.

"I destroy the worlds…and the Heartless…"

"The Heartless, too?" Sora asked. He didn't remember completely at first, but he realized that the Heartless and the Nobodies were completely different groups.

"I have…begun to give life…to those that were never to receive them…yet were alive in the past," he said darkly. He stopped a couple yards in front of him.

"People who weren't supposed to live?"

"Yes…and two new lives I have added…to the thirteen…that were never meant to be," he whispered. Roxas struggled to get up, using his Keyblade as support. He got to his knees before the man fell silent.

"I'll…stop you!" he cried as he used a quick rush of energy to try and attack him, but Number Zero vanished from sight, the darkness merely whisking him away.

"Augh! Dammit!" shouted Roxas. He took his Keyblade and threw it onto the ground, a loud clanging sound ringing out. He looked down to the ground with his fists, balled and shaken.

"Hey…you should give it a rest," said Sora. Roxas turned to look at him.

"…"

"He's gone. There's nothing…we can do," he said as he himself tried to stand. He heard footsteps.

"Sora! Roxas!" yelled a familiar voice. It belonged to the King as he and the rest of the group headed towards them.

"You guys…" said Roxas weakly. His knees were shaking not from fear, but from exhaustion. He could've just let himself fall back and lay on the ground.

"What happened?" asked Yuffie. She examined the area to find the ground uprooted and cracks like pieces of a fragile window; the ground was soaked with water creating an almost muddy layer. There were also strange, black-colored plant-like objects on the ground. Yuffie picked one up and held it in her hand for only a moment before it merely disintegrated. Aerith knelt down towards Sora and felt the hair on her head stand straight up, like the air was charged with electricity. Storm clouds gathered in the skies and the scene was depressing.

"What happened here?" asked Riku, watching for any movement in the area.

"We just got careless," said Sora, standing up. Aerith helped him as he lost his balance.

"How did you know we were…?"

"Our security system detected a disturbance. And of course, we could hear shouting," said Yuffie, smiling.

"Who could've done this much damage to you guys…and even more to the Bailey?" asked Leon. The ceiling was gone. The building looked like it was never completely, like the roof was still under construction. It baffled them.

"We found the guy responsible for everything," said Sora. Roxas stood in place and didn't react to Aerith's attempts to heal his wounds.

"Who might that be?" asked Mickey. Sora explained to them, all of them, about the man called Number Zero; the man who wore the cloak of a recently deceased Organization. Mickey looked stern as Sora told him about the destruction of the worlds and Heartless. Sora also explained that he was in the process of bringing back the old Organization members. Leon paused and looked thoughtful.

"Wait, he's reviving dead Nobodies?" asked Yuffie.

"Is that even possible?" asked Kairi.

"It sounds crazy, I know," Sora replied.

"I mean, first off, they're Nobodies. Second, no amount of power in the world could bring back one dead person, let alone thirteen of them," pondered Yuffie.

"This guy was…strong," whispered Roxas. Everyone turned to him.

"Did you…know him?" asked Aerith. Roxas shook his head.

"No, I don't think there ever was a 'Number Zero' in the Organization…at least I don't think there was," he said, looking at the ground.

"So, all we know is this guy is powerful and dangerous," said Leon.

"And he's probably already planning out the destruction of the next world," added Riku. Donald and Goofy were wandering through the destruction. The ground cracked.

"Well…I think the best choice would be to split up," said the king. He put a hand to his chin.

"If this guy could beat Sora, there's no telling what he could do with his full power and we can't risk everyone. So here's how it'll go: Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Roxas will be one group," he stated. The four nodded and gathered together.

"The second group will be Riku, Leon, Cloud, and I," he finished. Aerith looked at Mickey after hearing Cloud's name.

"Shall I-?" she asked. Mickey nodded.

"He's not with us, but I think we can persuade him to come along with us."

"I guess the rest of us will work on what we know here," said Yuffie, turning to leave. Kairi and Aerith joined her as they headed back towards Merlin's house.

"Well…where do you think we should start looking you guys?" asked Sora. The other three looked thoughtful and tried to think of a good place to start.

"Well…" said Goofy.

"Maybe we should start somewhere he'll think we won't look," said Donald.

"He's too smart for that," said Roxas.

"Well…"

"How about Agrabah?" said Sora.

"What about Agrabah?" asked Roxas.

"We could go meet up with Aladdin and he could help us," he replied.

"He does know a lot about the town and the desert, let's give it a try!" said Donald. He started to run towards the residential area where they had landed their gummi ship. Goofy stumbled behind.

"Are you okay?" asked Sora. Roxas seemed to stare off into space, but snapped back into reality.

"What...oh, yeah, I'm fine," he replied. Roxas began to walk towards his Keyblade which was on the ground. The dust covered it and the impact disturbed the ground. He picked it up and it disappeared with a flash of light.

"Just don't push yourself," warned Sora. Roxas smiled and looked up in the air to see the gummi ship already heading their way.

"That was fast," said Sora, surprised. This time, however, Donald was able to land the ship smoothly and without much interference from the controls. Roxas and Sora hopped in and off they went to their next destination and a possible place where the Organization could be, Argabah.

End of Chapter Three


	4. Chapter Four Desert Wind

Chapter Four Desert Wind

A young man sat outside the walls that protected the city of Agrabah. The sand was carried in the wind and mixed with his dark hair. He shook his head before leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. It was so boring…

"Hey Abu?" he said sleepily. His monkey friend, Abu, was half-buried in the sand, smacking the sand around with his tiny hat lazily. It was then the ground began to shake. Abu jumped out of the sand with a startled cry and climbed up his friend's leg and arm onto his head.

"What the?!"

The horizon that had shown an endless sea of sand dunes began to distort. The very sand underneath it began to disperse outward. A portal seemed to open right in front of the two, the ground now trembling with intense power as a bright flash enveloped the area. Aladdin shielded his eyes and as sand blew into his clothes and all around. He felt like he was in the middle of a raging sandstorm. But, then it began to calm down. The sand in the air began to descend slowly while whirling around like a small tornado. Aladdin dusted his clothes off and looked in front of him to see a large vehicle lay on the ground. He stared at it for quite a while until it struck him.

"Wait…could that be-?" he began. The cockpit opened up and Abu peeked out from underneath Aladdin's hat. Sora jumped out but lost his balance and fell onto the sand. Donald and Goofy hopped out after him and someone unfamiliar joined them. Aladdin's mouth twisted into a grin as Sora looked at him.

"Sora?!" gasped Aladdin.

"Aladdin!" yelled Sora as he got up. Donald waved while leaping in the air and Goofy laughed. Roxas stood next to Sora.

"Donald and Goofy, too!" said Aladdin. Abu jumped off of Aladdin and scratches his furry head, confused at the sight of Roxas.

"Hey, long time no see!" said Sora.

"So, who's your new friend?" he asked. Sora looked over to Aladdin's gaze to realize he never introduced Roxas.

"Oh! Sorry. This is Roxas, my nobo-"

Donald elbowed Sora's knee and he almost lost his balance again. He glared at Donald.

"I'm Sora's good friend. Nice to meet you…?" said Roxas.

"I'm Aladdin and this is Abu," he said, gesturing towards his monkey friend.

"So what brings you here, Sora? I thought we'd never see each other again after you left," said Aladdin. Everyone had a serious look on their face as the desert wind shuffled the sand they stood on.

"Not good, huh?" chuckled Aladdin, scratching the back of his head.

"We came to look for someone," said Donald.

"Umm…have you seen any Nobodies or Heartless recently?" asked Sora. Aladdin shook his head and crossed his arms.

"I haven't had any problems here since Jafar," he replied.

"Oh…"

"I guess we should look somewhere else," said Goofy.

"Sorry I couldn't help you guys," said Aladdin, sadly. He turned to head back into the city. Abu followed. The other four turned to get onto their gummi ship and leave, but something caught their eye. In the churning sea of sand there was a figure; it was black in color and it seemed to run towards the desert. Sora immediately reacted.

"The Organization!" he shouted. Donald and Goofy gasped and Roxas held his Keyblade.

"Quick, let's get Aladdin!" said Sora. Donald rushed into the gates as fast as he could with his webbed feet and spotted the young man.

"Donald?!" he said. He sounded busy.

"We've got trouble! Hurry-!" said Donald. He couldn't finish the sentence as a menacing-looking Nobody rushed at him. He let out a loud yell and the other three outside rushed inside the bazaar. Aladdin was struggling to fend off the Nobodies that appeared suddenly. They were armored and held large spears. They were the Dragoon Nobodies.

"Aladdin!" shouted Sora as he summoned his Keyblade. Roxas was ready with his and they both rushed inside with Goofy stumbling behind, shield in hand. Donald barely got out of the way of the Dragoon's spear and he angrily cast a flurry of ice spells at it.

"BLIZZARA!" he cried. From his staff came a blue light and harsh, cold ice crystals shot out impacting the Nobody. It froze in a block of ice before it fell onto the ground, crashing into several pieces. The remnants of the Nobody disintegrated. Aladdin defeated two of the six that appeared, but was exhausted. Sora and Roxas made quick work of the other two while Goofy merely dived at the last one, with his shield forward.

"You okay, Aladdin?" asked Sora. He nodded. The bazaar was a mess; stands were broken, goods were scattered on the floor and all seemed quiet for a moment.

"Just wait 'till the owners come here…" said Aladdin, quietly. Sora took a moment to catch his breathe.

"Tired already?" said a voice. Roxas was startled by the familiar sound. He turned to see a man in a black cloak appear by the entrance to the city.

"Another one?!" cried Donald. The man had black hair in the form of dreadlocks and a ponytail. He had thick sideburns that ran across his cheeks.

"Xaldin!" shouted Roxas. Xaldin raised his hand while walking towards the five and six small tornadoes appeared from out of nowhere and touched the ground, hurling about objects and debris. He paused for a moment before the funnels of air dispersed with trails of darkness. Six lances appeared in their place and they began to hover around him.

"I know him," said Sora. He readied himself with his Keyblade as he recalled the last time he fought with Xaldin.

"How could they be revived to fast?!" exclaimed Donald. Xaldin took no time to converse and immediately began the assault with a flurry of strikes with his spears. Roxas fended off two of the four that came and Goofy knocked away the last two with a Goofy Tornado. Xaldin sped forward into the air, knocking Goofy away with a quick attack with his spears in hand. He shielded himself, but was hurled back from the force of the attack. Donald retaliated by slinging a quick Fira spell, but Xaldin reflected it with Aeroga.

"Watch out!"

Xaldin's weapons danced around in the hot, dry air swooping this way and that way trying to cut at Sora and Roxas. Aladdin struggled to help Goofy off the ground as one tried to knock him off his feet.

"Hey!" shouted Roxas. Xaldin was keeping everyone at bay and none of them could get through the Whirlwind Lancer's tactics. Roxas tried to grab a hold of one of the spears and held on as it began to drag him across the Bazaar.

"Watch out!" he cried as it headed straight for Sora.

"!"

Sora, on instinct, lifted his Keyblade into the air and shouted out a spell.

"Reflega!" he shouted. The moment his words left his mouth, a white, transparent barrier appeared all around him. Roxas cried out as the spear slammed headfirst into it. But, instead of bouncing back and Roxas being knocked away, the spear almost immediately made a u0turn and headed straight for Xaldin.

"What the-?!" he cried before rolling out of the way. It crashed into one of the stands with Roxas still clutching it, the wood and goods tossed into the air. Goofy took this moment and took a running start before slamming his shield into Xaldin's back. He was knocked forward towards Sora, who smiled deviously. Xaldin, with just a thought, commanded two spears to attack Sora from Behind.

"Ack!"

Sora turned and cast another Reflega spell and the two were also knocked away into their opposite direction. They seemed to have to control over themselves and cut right through the door to one of the houses. They struggled to break free, but could not.

"What's this?!" shouted Xaldin. He grabbed Sora by the collar and raised him to his level. Xaldin let out a mighty shout before Sora was engulfed in a whirling mixture of debris and wind. Xaldin let go and Sora was carried into the air, the debris smacking him around. Donald reacted to by using his own wind spell.

"Aeroga!" he cried and from his wand came a small burst of air. Sora, who was still high above the ground, was enveloped in a barrier of wind. It swirled around him in the opposite direction of the funnel and their directions clashed with ach other. The small tornado stopped, but left Sora to fall onto the ground.

"Sora!" shouted Goofy and Donald. They both ran towards him and halted, trying to find a position to catch him. Instead, Sora landed on the two of them, all three crashing down onto the ground.

"Ow! Hey!" cried Donald as he shook his head. Goofy laughed while Sora moaned.

"Thanks a lot you guys," said Sora sarcastically. Xaldin was angry now.

That's when Aladdin made his mistake. He turned to see the three on the ground and laughed. Nothing was attacking him and Xaldin saw the perfect opportunity. He ran towards him like an elephant charging. He made loud steps as they landed on the ground. Aladdin turned to look and was met with the full force of Xaldin's charge.

"Augh!"

Aladdin was knocked off his feet and was thrown into a doorway, destroying it and was knocked out cold. Sora and the other two got up.

"Your time alive should end right here and now," he said, gritting his teeth. His eyes narrowed as three of the six spears he had gathered around him. Roxas climbed out of the debris and rubbed his head before getting out. Sora, Donald, and Goofy got together in a triangle formation in front of Xaldin.

"You're the one who's going to die," yelled Roxas as he came from behind. Xaldin stifled a laugh.

"Hey, you guys," said Sora. Donald and Goofy opened their ears.

"I've got an idea," he said smiling. Goofy blinked and scratched his head. Donald understood almost immediately. Roxas, oblivious to the "plan", jumped at Xaldin, attacking furiously with Keyblade.

"Goofy, you ready?" asked Sora.

"I hope so," he replied. Goofy held his shield in front of him with both his hands while Sora and Donald got into position.

"Ready?" asked Donald. Goofy timidly nodded. Roxas knocked one of Xaldin's spears away and continued to fight, ignoring his injuries.

"GO!"

Goofy began to rumble and shake. He held his shield out in front of his head with one hand, taking on a flying position. Sora and Donald held his steady for only a moment before Goofy blasted off with a huge burst of energy.

"YAHOO!" he shouted. Goofy sped immediately at Xaldin who turned unsuspectingly. Goofy slammed right into Xaldin's chest, knocking him back and Goofy returned to strike him again. Goofy was rocketing all across the Bazaar, attacking Xaldin one strike after another. Xaldin had no time to collect himself as he was struck in all directions. Goofy stopped in mid-air for one final strike.

"For the king!" he shouted awkwardly. He brought himself back and then threw a fist forward, shield in hand and took on a "superman-position" and headed straight for Xaldin with blinding speed. Xaldin held his chest as he looked up, the bruises on his body aching. Goofy made a beeline for him as he took off.

"Damn…"

Goofy's shield collided with Xaldin's chest, the impact causing him to be lifted off his feet. He seemed to just be carried away by the force of the attack and landed straight on the sandy ground. He made a loud thud as he fell. Roxas, breathing hard, was finally relieved when the spears suddenly stopped moving and landed on the ground with a clang. Sora shouted praise to Goofy, who landed onto the ground safely.

"Yeah, Goofy did something right!" shouted Donald.

"Did we…win?" asked Roxas. He held his swinging arm as he walked towards the fallen Xaldin.

"…"

Xaldin's body began to move. He shook as if in pain and he opened his eyes. He turned over into his side and propped himself up on his knees and stood up, seemingly fine. A disturbance appeared behind him in the empty space. Xaldin turned his head slightly as the very familiar portal of darkness appeared and out stepped a man wearing the cloak of the Organization. Sora and others gathered together in case of another fight. The man had long hair tied into a ponytail behind him and wore an eye patch on his right eye. He had one, long scar run up the side of his left cheek.

"What, Xigbar?" asked Xaldin, irritated.

"Hey, no need to get mad at me," replied Xigbar. Sora recognized Xigbar as someone he definitely defeated sometime ago. Roxas balled his fists together but made no move to attack.

"Xaarga wants us to leave this world," said Xigbar. He didn't bother to whisper as he purposely wanted Sora to hear. The both of them turned to leave until Sora spoke out.

"Wait…I don't remember that name…who is Xaarga?" demanded Sora. Xigbar turned around and gave Sora an impish smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked brusquely. The two Organization members then vanished in a vortex of darkness.

End of Chapter Four


	5. Chapter Five Sandstorm

Chapter Five Sandstorm

"Let's pick up the pace!" said Roxas as he rushed into the barren desert. Footprints trailed behind him as Sora, Donald, and Goofy raced after him. He seemed eager to find this Organization member, but even more on driving him out of this world. The huge sand dunes were placed neatly next to each other, some low and some as steep as a valley. The wind didn't make their trek any easier as it blew sand into their faces and into their clothes.

"Ugh! I hate the desert!" cried Donald as he ran as fast as he could. He took his hat off of his head and a waterfall of sand streamed out of in and into his feathery head.

"I'm glad Aladdin was okay," said Sora. Aladdin was not with them as the injuries were too painful for him to move. Carpet and Abu were watching him.

"Are you sure he headed this way?" asked Goofy as he blocked the flying sand with his shield. Roxas didn't respond and just kept on running up a sand dune. Sora was behind, but only by a few feet.

"Well, I don't think Roxas is going to slow down anytime soon," said Sora. Sora looked up to see that Roxas did in fact stop; right at the top. The three of them stopped there as well to rest and took look around. Donald let himself fall backward onto the sand, catching his breath. Roxas took a look around the area and found nothing.

"I could've sworn that I…" he began, scratching his head. Suddenly, the sand beneath them began to rumble. Donald immediately jumped up, startled. Sora and Roxas struggled to keep their balance as the sand dune began to collapse. A couple seconds later, the sand just suddenly dropped, leaving the four to fall down a couple feet. Roxas landed on his feet; Sora did as well, but lost balance and fell. Donald landed headfirst onto the ground and his upper half of his body was buried. His muffled cries were drowned out by the sand.

"What was that all about?" asked Sora as he got up from the ground.

"I don't think that normally happens…" answered Roxas. Sora suddenly sensed a presence other than theirs and looked around. There, in front of them, stood a hooded man in a black cloak; the Organization member.

"There!" he shouted. Roxas and the other two looked in that direction. The man raised his arms and pulled off his hood and revealed his face. He looked young and had a brownish color for his hair; it resembled a solid color of the sand. His eyes were about the same color, except darker. His eyes were also outlined with black, making them look pointed at both ends. He had a strange, black marking on his forehead towards his left eye; various strokes with a calligraphy brush made some kind of symbol or word.

"Do you know him?" asked Sora. Roxas shook his head and summoned his Keyblade as did Sora. Suddenly, sand from the ground was lifted into the air around the man though there was no wind. Goofy was finally able to pluck Donald out off the ground and they both landed on the ground again.

"So, he was the one who did that," said Goofy. Donald was angry and looked towards the man's direction and glared at him. Sora suddenly felt the ground below him give away.

"What the-?!" he cried. He felt his legs become enveloped by the sand and it began to erupt into the air like a geyser of water. Sora dropped his Keyblade and it plunged into the ground, the blade deep in the sand and the handle still visible.

"Sora!" cried Donald. He ran forward towards the man and gave him a good blast of Thundara. Lighting bolts rained out of the clear sky and looked as if it was a sure hit, but the sand around him shielded him. The man stood completely still as the sand protected him. Donald was shocked. Sora fell onto the ground hard and was recovering.

"Hey! That's cheating!" he yelled. The man narrowed his eyes slightly and the same attack sued on Sora fell on Donald. He was hurled into the air by a column of sand and allowed to drop down. The man made no sign of movement as more columns rose out of the ground, forcing Roxas to stay still.

"!"

He was completely surrounded by a whirling funnel of sand.

"Don't worry, I'll help!" shouted Goofy. He held his shield on his elbow and pulled himself back. Then he began to spin around, both arms outstretched. He was spinning fast enough to rise into the air and he headed straight for the funnel. He cut right through it and with his Goofy Tornado, canceled out the attack. Roxas rolled out of the way as Goofy realized he was falling. Sora grabbed his Keyblade and began to run towards the Organization member. Donald had steam coming out of his ears as he threw fireball after fireball at him in a furious rage. The sand shielded him once again, but with the heat of the spell, turned the clumps of sand into glass. The glass chunks merely fell onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"TAKE THAT AND THAT!" cried Donald. The man finally made a movement and ran with blinding speed at Donald.

"Wha-?!" he said in surprise. The man picked Donald up by the collar.

"Donald!" cried Sora. The man tightened his grip as Donald struggled to break free with a flailing tantrum. Sand gathered around Donald, creating a circle and eventually becoming a solid orb of sand. The man let go and pulled his hand out, leaving his victim to deal with the attack. A moment later, it vanished, leaving Donald to fall onto the ground, motionless. His clothes looked battered and there were bruises all over him.

"Heads up!" shouted Roxas as he hurled his Keyblade at him. It made impact with the "barrier" around the man, but it just bounced off and landing on the ground. Sora, who was positioning himself in front of him, unleashed a fearsome Ars Arcanum attack, striking again and again at the barrier, sand flying in all directions. He didn't seem to worry at all.

"Take that!" shouted Sora as he pulled his Keyblade back behind him and brought it back forward, slamming it hard against the clump of sand blocking his path to the man. The sand absorbed the blow and then lashed out at Sora with a sudden forward movement. He was blown back and then buried in the sand, his head sticking out from the ground.

"Ah!"

Then the ground beneath Roxas began to give away and he fell into the sand and was in the same state as Sora.

"What the-?!"

The man then suddenly vanished, leaving an outline of him in the sand-drenched air. Suddenly, Sora felt himself begin to be pushed forward by the sand, his head still out in the open. Roxas was also carried towards Sora until they were next to each other. Goofy, who went to Donald's side, was also sinking into the ground. Donald, however, just laid there, still unconscious.

"This is pathetic," said a voice. It belonged to the man who has them in his hands.

"I didn't expect the Keybearer to be such an easy enemy to overcome," he said, laughing a little. Sora struggled to get free, but his arms were stuck at his sides.

"Who are you?!" shouted Sora. The man chuckled.

"My name is Xaarga," he said with a smug look on his face. Goofy was carrying Donald towards the buried Keybearers. Xaarga did not interfere.

"I am number fifteen of the Organization and I was created by the one known as…Number Zero," he said, turning to leave. Sora was about to throw another question at him, but Xaarga disappeared with a wisp of darkness.

"Need some help?" asked Goofy. He gently placed Donald onto the ground and seemed to be sleeping. Goofy healed his wounds with a quick use of a Hi-Potion. He pulled Sora out of the sand which seemed to just let go without holding him back like before. Roxas was the same way. Sora knelt down by his snoozing friend.

"He got real mad, huh?" he asked, smiling.

"Yup, Donald doesn't normally get so mad. Maybe it's because he was worried about you, Sora," said Goofy cheerfully.

"Let's let him rest," said Roxas, putting away his weapon.

"So…" began Sora. He seemed nervous and scratched the back of his head. Roxas and Goofy made a face.

"Don't even ask who's going to carry Donald," said Roxas.

"Yeah, cause I will!" volunteered Goofy. Sora and Roxas looked at him funny before laughing. Goofy picked up Donald and placed him against his shoulder and the three of them started to head back to Agrabah. Even though they seemed to be far-off, the city was right nearby. The sand dunes seemed lower than they were before and the sandstorm was calm now.

"Phew…that guy was…"

"Strong, I know," replied Roxas. Sora looked down. It's been a while since he's ever felt or been defeated by someone. The only other one who he really had lost to is Riku and those were at playful swordfights at the islands. Roxas could feel him.

"You know, the other one is out there somewhere."

Sora looked up.

"Yeah, there were two new Organization members created by that guy," said Goofy. Donald was snoring quite a bit. The city gates were in front of them and the gummi ship was nearby. They wanted to let Aladdin know they were leaving.

"You guys!" yelled a voice. The three turned to Aladdin who was conveniently waiting right inside the Bazaar. He ran towards them.

"You're okay!" he said, relieved. Sora told him what happened out in the desert including Xaarga and Donald's injuries. Aladdin looked a little disappointed that they were leaving so soon. Aladdin wasted no time with good-byes as he knew they were on the Organization's trail.

"Just look out for anymore Nobodies, okay?" said Roxas. Aladdin nodded and turned to head back into the city. Sora was able to man the ship this time and they sped off onto their next destination.

End of Chapter Five


	6. Chapter Six Feeling Lucky

Chapter Six Feeling Lucky

"So where are we going now?" asked Goofy. The four were back on their ship and were heading out towards their next destination. There were still in the skies of Agrabah, debating on where to go. They were just going to warp there rather than fly through space. Heartless and Nobodies were abundant even outside of worlds.

"Hmm…" said Sora.

"Any place in particular you'd like to?" asked Roxas. Sora thought for a moment and in his head were the faces of many friends. Any of them could be in danger…

"How about Port Royal?" said Donald. The other three were startled by Donald's sudden statement. He was still asleep when they brought him into the ship.

"Hey! You're okay!" said Goofy. Donald nodded.

"Of course I am! Now, let's get going!" he urged.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Sora. Donald nodded again and then walked towards Sora. He moaned and knew Donald was going to take back control of the gummi ship.

"Can you take us?" he asked. Sora was surprised. Donald usually never liked it when Sora drove. He nodded and then chose Port Royal as their next warp point. The control panel entered the data into its memory and the sky outside of the ship began to turn into a brilliant array of colors.

"Do any of you know why outside is all colorful?" asked Roxas. He had only recently been acquainted with the ship and was still in awe even though he could see through Sora's eyes.

"Not really…I think Donald can explain," said Sora.

"Don't look at me!" he cried. The colors began to disperse a moment later and all became a dull mixture of gray and navy blue. It looked like there was fog.

"We're here," said Goofy. The ship quietly headed down towards the murky water beneath them. The shore appeared soon after they reached low altitude. They decided not to go any closer to the town in fear of being seen by Nobodies or Heartless. They all got out.

"Hey, I wonder where Jack is," said Donald. The sand felt cold beneath his webbed feet.

"Yeah and Will and Elizabeth, too," added Goofy.

"Let's head into town, first," said Sora who was already walking towards the shady, quiet town. Roxas followed close behind.

"It's awfully quiet…" whispered Donald. A couple moments after he said this, there was the sound of something breaking; it sounded like cracking wood.

"Huh?!"

"Get back you…you…Nobodies!" cried a voice. Sora and the others headed in the voice's direction and found Jack Sparrow sparring with some very familiar Nobodies.

"Jack!" shouted Sora. Jack turned to him, but was then knocked down by one of the Nobodies.

"Hey…aren't those the guys that like to gamble?" asked Goofy.

"Gambler Nobodies!" cried Donald. He got his staff out and Goofy his shield. Sora and Roxas got their Keyblades.

"Ah!" cried Jack. He ducked under a broken stand nearby as cards pierced the wood and broke the wooden beams.

"Let's go!" said Sora as he rushed into the fray. The nobodies turned and then focused their attention on the Keybearer. They hovered towards them with quick speed, juggling their cards around in the air as they came closer. Sora stopped suddenly and then brought his weapon back behind him before throwing it forward, the Kingdom Key spinning wildly. Donald, who suddenly thought of an idea, threw his wand into the air and cast a powerful Thundaga spell on Sora's weapon, charging it with powerful energy. When the Keyblade made impact with the Gambler's bodies, they were struck with a powerful lightning bolt and destroyed. The Keyblade suddenly vanished and reappeared back into Sora's hands.

"Awesome!" he cried. Donald cheered along with Goofy. Roxas was busy trying to pull Jack out of the debris. Then, out of the darkness came a man; he had clean-cut blonde hair and sort of a goatee. He also wore an earring on one ear. Jack was completely out with one final tug from Roxas and then both tumbled onto the ground. Jack rubbed his head before looking up at him. He was suddenly struck with realization.

"You!" he shouted, pointing a finger. Sora and the others looked in his direction.

"I remember you! You're the one who cursed me!" he shouted angrily. The man laughed and crossed his arms.

"I'm flattered you remember me, but I'm not here to curse anyone," he replied in a cool, calm voice.

"I'll get my revenge on you in just a second!" he said as he searched for his sword amongst the debris.

"Luxord," muttered Roxas. Luxord beamed at him before turning to Sora.

"I'm only here to help Number Zero accomplish a task," he said, smiling.

"What would that be?" asked Goofy. He seemed to talk like they weren't enemies, but then again, he was like that to everyone.

"I'm here to help him increase his army of Nobodies. That's all," he said brusquely. He turned and disappeared in a flash of darkness. There seemed to be no other sign of enemies in the area. Sora ran towards Jack.

"Hey, have you seen any other Nobodies?"

"Sora! We just got to meet again after all this time and you're already so serious," he said, pouting a little. Donald glared at him.

"Oh, right! Well, Davy Jones has been setting all kinds of stuff on me like Heartless, Nobodies and even the Kraken," he explained. Sora didn't recognize that name.

"Who's Davy Jones?" he asked.

"Davy Jones? Davy Jones?!" he cried. The four of them nodded.

"Why, he's the captain of the flying Dutchman! Old squid face he is," complained Jack. He crossed his arms.

"Is he a Heartless or Nobody?" asked Roxas. Jack laughed.

"He's heartless," joked Jack.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's complicated and besides, he has Will hostage! Which reminds me…I was supposed to go rescue him a while ago."

"Should we get on your ship now?" asked Goofy. There was a ship docked in the port, but it was too foggy to see clearly.

"Right, let's go!" said Jack, running off into the Black Pearl's direction. Sora and the others followed. The bridge was already out and the five climbed it and onto the deck they were. Jack was thoughtful for a moment before realizing something.

"What a minute…where is the crew?!" he cried. Suddenly there was a disturbance in the water. Jack turned to look at it and then had a fearful expression on his face. Roxas ran towards the other side of the ship and looked at the large object rising out of the water. It was no object, but a ship.

"The Flying Dutchman!" shouted Jack. The ship was outlined in an eerie yellow light, creating a shape in the foggy air above the sea. The ship looked terrible; the ship's sails were ripped and torn and hung loosely above the deck, the various wooden beams of the ship itself were broken and many holes decorated it. It seemed to lift itself out of the water and into the water and began to come towards their direction.

"Is that-?" asked Donald. Jack nodded. The eerie ship edged closer and closer until it was right next to the Black Pearl. A rather large plank was set on the railing, connecting the two ships. A man in stepped onto it and walked over to the Black pearl's side. Sora couldn't believe what he saw; the man's long beard was actually tentacles, crawling around. The man's face had no nose or ears, just eyes. His skin was pale and was noticeably slimy and moist. Donald gulped.

"So Jack Sparrow has recruited new members?" he said, looking at the four. Goofy and Donald hid behind Sora, shaking. Jack was adamant.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, this is Davy Jones," he said.

"Davy Jones, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Roxas."

"Sora, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?" said Davy Jones, a tentacle rubbing his forehead.

"It doesn't matter. You're all going to die anyway," he said, lifting his hand. When he did this, portals of darkness appeared and Nobodies poured out onto the Black Pearl. Gamblers and Dragoons and Dancers appeared and they were fixed onto their target: Sora.

"Let's take care of these guys and move onto Davy Jones!" said Sora. Roxas nodded and he got his weapon out. Donald, Goofy and Jack followed. The Gamblers threw a flurry of flying cards their way as the Dragoons hovered into the air, their lances in hand. The Dancers twirled and spun across the wooden floor. Davy Jones looked on, not expecting much of a fight from Sora.

"Go! Aeroga!" shouted Donald. His wand let out a sudden burst of wind and all five of them were surrounded by a barrier of swirling wind. One of the Dancers tried to kick at Roxas and slammed its foot into the barrier. A moment later, the Dancer was thrown back by the force of its own kick and crashed into one of the Dragoons. Goofy took his shield and ran towards the Gamblers, their cards ricocheting off his weapon. He eventually made impact with the three of them, knocking himself and the Nobodies over. Jack was sparring with another Dragoon, both sending attack after attack at each other until Jack found a weak spot and dispatched it. Roxas made quick work of the Dancers, but one was able to grab onto his collar and send him flying with a good kick.

"Roxas!" cried Donald. From his staff came a small flash of green light. When Roxas met the ground, he suddenly felt a warm feeling surge through his body. There was an odd light from above his head. He looked up to see bell-shaped flowers drop their nectar onto him before suddenly vanishing.

"Thanks," he replied. Davy Jones was unimpressed.

"This is a waste of my time…I need to get rid of you now!" he shouted. The last of the group of Nobodies were finished. Sora looked up at Davy Jones to see his hands raised high into the air as if presenting something.

"What is he-?" asked Roxas. Suddenly, the ship shook. The ground beneath them shuddered and forced them to try to balance themselves.

"What's happening?" cried Sora. The shaking suddenly stopped. Jack was on one knee and was thoughtful for a moment.

"…!"

"What is it?"

"Oh dear," he said, grimly. Donald gulped and Goofy hid his face under his shield. He peeked out from behind it and looked towards Jack.

"Tell us, already!" shouted Donald. But before Jack could answer them, something reached out of the water in the foggy air and wrapped itself around Jack's waist and brought him off the ship and into the water.

"What the-?!"

"Yes! Come and destroy them!" hissed Davy Jones. The ship began to shake again. Two long, slimy arms slithered out of the water and wrapped itself around the side of the ship. Then, slowly, the head of an enormous creature was brought out from beneath the water. A loud roar ran out as the Kraken set its fierce and hungry eyes on Sora and the others.

"It's the Kraken!" cried Goofy. There was also the sound of someone yelling in the distance. Roxas looked up to see a man in one of the Kraken's many arms; Captain Jack Sparrow.

"There he is!"

"Whoa! Get your suction cups off of me!" shouted jack angrily. He had his sword in hand, but was already trying to fight off other large tentacles coming his way.

"Let's go!" shouted Sora. And with that, the fight overseas began. Davy Jones reached behind him and pulled out a rather large and intimidating, old-fashioned gun. He lifted it up and aimed at Sora, his eyes narrowing. Sora was about to run in when he suddenly realized that the protective barrier Donald cast on him was gone.

"Out of the way!"

Davy Jones fired a powerful shot at Sora, but before it could hit him, Goofy shielded him and reflected the shot in another direction. The impact forced Goofy to fall onto Sora.

"Thanks, Goofy," said Sora, pulling himself up. Donald jumped in front of both of them and fired a shot of Blizzara at Davy Jones. Before it could hit, the Kraken's tentacle literally slammed down on the spell, blocking it.

"What?!" cried Donald. Roxas jumped into the air at the recovering arm and unleashed a fierce air combo on it. Donald realized why Roxas was attacking it and aided him with a blast of Thundaga. The tentacle seemed to jerk back into the water and a loud, painful noise rang out. Davy Jones looked back at the Kraken before becoming angry. He lifted his gun again and began to shoot at the four furiously. They all ran out of the way and Davy Jones had to pick one target to follow.

"Whoa!"

Then out of the sky fell a flailing Jack Sparrow who seemed to be able to cut his way out of the Kraken's grasp. Davy Jones looked up, but it was too late and Jack landed right on his head. They both fell down onto the ground, both disoriented. Sora looked up and was relieved Jack was alright.

"You guys help Jack. I'm going to take care of that Kraken!" shouted Sora as he made his way to the tallest mast. Donald and Goofy had no choice but to rush in towards Davy Jones. Roxas decided to follow the two. Jack jumped off of Davy Jones' crushed hat and onto his feet, drawing his weapon.

"Let's finish this, today!" shouted Jack as Davy Jones stood up. He fixed his hat before drawing his own sword. With a fierce look on his face, he lunged at Jack and the others with the Kraken still roaring. Sora reached the crow's nest after a long climb up the ladder. There was an unusual feel in the air as Sora looked down. He could hear the sounds of swords, the booming sound of a gun, and the cries of his friends as they fought with the two enemies. Then he felt something move through the misty air behind him.

"!"

He turned, but saw nothing. Then he spotted something just a few feet below him; a white, slimy tentacle. It was wrapped around the pole, its grasp taut. Sora looked forward towards where he would've seen the Kraken, if not for the fog. He got an idea.

"Aeroga!" he shouted. Raising his Keyblade, a rush of wind emitted from it, giving himself a protective barrier and also clearing away some of the fog. As various parts of the ship were revealed, he could see Donald and the others running around below before he could spot a large white object headed straight for his head.

"Whoa!"

He ducked quickly, but then looking up again. He stood straight up and examined the ship to find it completely in the Kraken's grasp; various areas were clung to by massive tentacles.

"This is bad…how can I-?" he said before getting an idea. He smiled impishly before holding his Keyblade up. He focused some of his strength into his whole arm mainly. He closed his eyes for just a moment. He listened closely, figuring out every sound that was heard; the churning waters, the sound of breaking wood, the shrill cry of the Kraken, and the sounds of his friend's battle shouts echoed in his head. The Kraken aimed its yellow eye up towards Sora, who was a sitting duck. It took three of its arms and sent them straight at its target.

"Now!" shouted Sora. He threw his arm forward, releasing his Keyblade. The moment it left his hand, the weapon was outlined in a flash of blue and white, spinning wildly. It met the three tentacles and sliced right through all three of them, large chunks of the Kraken falling from the sky like rocks off a cliff. The Kraken let out a painful roar as it brought back what was left of its dismembered arms. The Keyblade then disappeared and reappeared back into Sora's hands.

"Again!" he cried. This time, he aimed for the tentacles that were wrapped around the ship itself. One by one, he cut off its arms, causing the Kraken to lose its grip. It seemed to prop itself onto the Black Pearl, clutching onto it for dear life. With so many amputated arms and its fluids oozing into the sea, it was sure to draw many predators. Davy Jones was furious now. He examined the battlefield closely; Goofy lay on the ground, covering himself with his shield from the bullets that erupted from his mighty gun, Donald stood by Roxas, covered in bruises, but still retaining that big temper. Roxas stood with his weapon at his side, seemingly unharmed. Jack held his sword in front of him, but knew he was tiring out. He heard the Kraken's cries.

"! What are you doing?!" he shouted. He turned to face the pitiful creature that was before him. It clung so desperately to the mast; its other arms sliced off clean by Sora. Sora looked down at him and smiled, then looking at the last and final arm.

"See you!"

Sora threw his Keyblade at the Kraken's last arm, cutting through it with a powerful Judgment finish. The creature then fell over, loosing total control of itself. Its high-pitched screech echoed as it began to become submerged in the water. Davy Jones looked in horror at it before turning back to the five that stood before him. He gritted his teeth before pulling his gun out of its holster. But, the Kraken's last arm was not nearly as severed as the others. It still had great length and it tried to reach and grab onto the last thing it could see; Davy Jones. The arm wrapped around him quickly and held tightly. Davy Jones was startled and was almost immediately pulled down under with the beast.

"Whoa! Watch out!" shouted Jack. With the Kraken's massive weight on the Black Pearl, the ship seemed to slant on one side almost, like that of a scale. Now that it was gone, the ship almost threw Sora off the crow's nest as it bounced back. The water flew into the air and left a clear sheet of mist as the ship was equally balanced again and the water became calm.

End of Chapter Six


	7. Chapter Seven Churning Waters

Chapter Seven Churning Waters

"You guys okay?" shouted Sora as he looked below at the deck. Donald cried out while jumping, telling Sora at least the loudmouth was okay. Roxas ran towards the crow's nest and waved at him. Sora waved back and assumed everyone was fine. He walked towards the cut-off section of the railing and climbed down the ladder. Goofy and Jack joined the other two as Sora reached the bottom and jumped onto the ground.

"Great idea, Sora!" complimented Jack as he patted him on the shoulder. Donald and Goofy jumped up and down cheering for Sora. Roxas just smiled and nodded.

"Ah! Before I forget, we should probably go save Will," said Jack, laughing nervously. He looked towards the Flying Dutchman which had only barely begun to drift away. The thrashing of the Kraken didn't seem to even move it slightly.

"Are you sure we can even stand on it?" asked Roxas curiously. He had never seen anything like it before and wouldn't know how to handle the situation. Sora laughed and patted him on the back. Roxas felt stupid.

"Let's go get Will" said Donald. Just when things were about to go smoothly again, they heard a small thud; almost like footsteps. Someone came onto the Black pearl.

"Captain Davy Jones, are you finished with them yet?" asked a voice. The way it was said sounded shaken and almost frightened. Roxas was thoughtful for a moment before suddenly taking on an angered look and drawing with Keyblade. Donald turned behind him to see a young man in a very familiar black cloak; an Organization member. He had short blonde hair and looked almost about Roxas' age. The young man turned to face them after realizing their presence.

"!"

He gasped before taking a few steps back, holding a hand in front of his face as if to halt the group from moving. Sora almost immediately recognized him.

"Demyx," he said with a hostile tone. He remembered the young member back in the Underworld. Donald and Goofy readied themselves while jack was pondering on something. He lowered himself to talk to Donald.

"This guy is…?" asked Jack. Donald nodded. It was then Jack also drew his sword out. He could remember the black cloak on Luxord and now knew there were more members. Demyx stopped in his tracks as he noticed Roxas standing behind Sora. His eyes lit up and he didn't seem afraid.

"Roxas, is that you?" he asked timidly. Roxas did not answer but shot him a look that could show his anger and annoyance. Demyx frowned.

"What's with the face?" he asked. He stopped and shook his head.

"Roxas, why don't you come back and help me? Come and rejoin the Organization?" he asked. He hoped Roxas would comply.

"I refuse," replied Roxas, glaring at his former friend. He held his weapon tightly.

"What? But you have to! I-"

Demyx was cut off before he saw Roxas running towards him, his Keyblade raised. He sped towards him quickly and without hesitation. Demyx turns around and runs, but did not realize he was already at the ship's edge. He was caught by surprise as his feet, expecting to meet the ground, but felt his whole body just drop.

"Ah!" he cried as he fell into the sea. Sora and the others followed as Roxas looked down into the ocean, ripples created from Demyx's fall. Nothing seemed to happen.

"Don't be reckless," said Roxas.

"I know. He has power over water," replied Sora. He couldn't possibly have forgotten the powers of the Organization. Each individual member was strong enough to match Sora, but he would prevail over them. There was a light sound in the air.

"What's that?" asked Goofy. It sounded like a waterfall…

"Hah!"

Goofy was startled as Demyx burst out of the water and into the air. Underneath him was a roaring geyser of water. He raised his hand into the air and the mist produced from the feat began to gather. It seemed to dance around in the air as the water began to collect itself before forming an odd shape. Demyx grasped it and the water erupted from it, revealing a rather large and blue object; his sitar.

"Let's see if I can convince you this time," shouted Demyx as he played a note on his weapon. Suddenly, two water spouts emerged from the sea and curved towards them and slammed into the ship's deck. The group separated themselves to avoid the attack, but Demyx just kept them coming. One after another, water gushed onto the ship forcing them in all directions.

"Watch out!" cried Jack. Demyx jumped onto the deck and threw his hands through the strings, playing a rather rushed melody. The water that landed onto the ship collected itself before forming a massive wall of water. With all the mist in the air he easily forced it into Jack Sparrow's position. Donald quickly raised his staff.

"Reflega!" he cried. A strange, translucent barrier appeared around Jack, but it wasn't quick enough. The barrier just barely blocked the attack before sending Jack backwards into a wall. Sora ran towards Demyx and was about to strike when he turned around and pulled on one of the strings all the way back to his shoulder. Sora stopped for a moment to look at what he was doing before Demyx smiled and released it. As his fingers separated themselves, a small drop of water followed the string and went for Sora's direction.

"What?" he said. The moment the little drop of water touched him it expanded at great speed, trapping Sora in a "ball of water". He struggled as he felt his feet leave the ground. He tried to hold his breathe, but the word he uttered before lessened his supply of air. Demyx chuckled as he held a hand up to Sora. The "ball of water" reacted and moved with his hand gestures. Sora covered his mouth, trying to let his oxygen leave his body.

"Sora!" cried Goofy. Demyx saw Goofy begin to move and threw his hand in his direction. The "ball of water" was suddenly thrown in Goofy's direction. Sora let out all of his air when he saw Goofy before the impact.

"Whoa!"

The "ball of water" exploded, releasing a torrent of water rushing in all directions. Sora was knocked away and landed onto the ground hard. Goofy was caught off guard and his shield flew in the other direction. Goofy himself was also sent to the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" asked Demyx. Donald jumped at him and threw his staff up into the air, a light orange flame emitted from the tip. A moment later, a ring of fire surrounded Donald forcing Demyx to take a step back. He sent Donald away with a torrent of water that gushed out of his outstretched hand.

"Wah!" cried Donald as he was swept away in the large current of water.

"Not even close!" shouted Sora as he pushed himself off the ground and on his feet. Demyx turned to see Roxas, hearing his loud footsteps before and unleashed a geyser of water, hurling him off his feet.

"Ah!"

Jack jumped at Demyx and began to swipe at him with his sword. Demyx used his sitar to shield himself from the attacks. He did not normally do this and was off and had many close-calls. He quickly sent Jack away with a powerful blow with his weapon, slamming the base of the sitar against Jacks sword.

"Take this!" shouted Donald. He was angry now and was outlined in a neon blue color. His face was twisted into an infuriated frown as he was lifted off of his feet; his staff hovering with him.

"Fantasia!" he cried. As he spoke those words, his staff began to spin in circles and also become enveloped in a blue light. Demyx looked in his direction before seeing a stream of color fill his vision. A cloud of fireworks erupted where he stood and knocked him into the air with explosive force. Donald sent wave after wave of brightly colored explosions as Demyx was juggled around high in the air.

"Whoa…" said Roxas in awe. Being apart of Sora doesn't necessarily mean Roxas could see through his eyes. He had known of Donald of course, but he had never seen Donald when he was really mad.

"Even with cold water on him, he's still a hot-head," said Sora jokingly. Roxas groaned.

"Hey, it's the truth!" said Sora, shrugging. Donald was about to finish his illustrious magic attack. He jumped high into the air, his staff slowly turning in a counter-clockwise direction as if winding up like a wind-up toy. His staff began to glow a mess of all sorts of shades and hues of color.

"Take that!" he shouted. With that, a magnificent explosion of fireworks filled the sky, painting it many colors. Demyx was unsure what was going on. Being knocked around silly by magical fireworks again and again would disorient anyone. The magical force bruised him in different areas of his body, sending a burning sensation through them to his brain. The spell ended and the sky used as a canvas became dull and darkened like silver exposed to air. Donald landed on his two webbed feet and made a sort of "Ta-da!" gesture. Demyx soon realized he began to fall out of the air and immediately reacted, trying to ignore the pain.

"Is that all?" asked Demyx in a mocking tone. He turned around to face the ground and thrust his hand in front of him at the wooden floor. Once again, water gushed out from beneath the boards, yet leaving them unbroken; the water slithered through the thin crevices between each beam. Demyx changed his position to one that was sitting and he was as the geyser of water came up. He sat leisurely on top of it and looked down upon the scattered group. They were still all over the Black Pearl.

"Yahoo!" cried Goofy. He held his shield in one arm and held both arms out at his sides before beginning to spin around wildly in a clockwise direction. He was lifted off his feet and then maneuvered straight towards Demyx. But he didn't make it. The geyser suddenly released a rushing torrent of water from right under Demyx. Goofy was halted in mid-air and thrown down into the ground.

"I'm done playing with you guys," said Demyx. The geyser lowered him down onto the ground as Sora and the others began to regroup and try to help Goofy. Roxas, instead, moved on and tried to attack Demyx. But before he could reach him, he could hear the melody that was being played furiously by Demyx on his sitar. The haunting notes and the ominous waves of sound echoed in his head as he began to halt his advance. He could see something in the horizon of the dark sea; the ocean's "line" that stretched across the horizon was much higher than it normally was. Jack took one look and looked distraught.

"What is it?" asked Donald. Jack began to bite his nails.

"This isn't a good time to explain. We might want to head for cover," said Jack as he tip-toed to the nearest entrance into the ship which was to his right. Donald jumped up in fear as he realized it was a tidal wave! He and Goofy trailed after Jack, yelling and shouting. Sora looked back towards Demyx and the hypnotized Roxas.

"Roxas!" he cried. He didn't seem to hear Sora's voice at all. His eyes were fixed on Demyx, but in his mind, something else was happening.

"Roxas?" asked a voice. He was standing on the Black Pearl, but everything was quiet and no one else was on the ship but himself. He responded.

"What?"

"Are you sure?"

"What am I sure about?"

"About rejoining the Organization; are you sure you don't want to come back? This is your last chance," said the voice. It sounded almost like Demyx, but…

"No matter what you do or what you say, I will always refuse," replied Roxas. He smiled and closed his eyes. In the real world, the giant wave of water was just about to crash onto the ship. Demyx jumped up into the air with a quick blast of water. Roxas opened his eyes just to see the monstrosity in front of him.

"Uh…"

With that, the Black Pearl was rocked by the immense power of the tidal wave. Being only a few meters from shore, the ship itself gently made it to the sandy beach before stopping in shallow water. The loud sound of water crashing into the wood echoed loudly as Demyx hovered in the air using the droplets of water that were in the mist. He frowned.

"Roxas, what's keeping you from coming back?" he wondered aloud. Though terrifying it was, the tidal wave was not as powerful as a natural one would be. Demyx, as strong as he could be, could not conjure such a feat. The Black Pearl, within seconds, was equally balanced on the water again. Though it could not take down a large object like the ship, it would be terribly powerful on a normal person. The crushing power of the attack would've taken down any normal person. But there was something amiss. He looked closer down towards the ground and gasped.

"How-?" he asked. As the last remnants of water slithered down, there was a light. The dark, murky waters fell to the ground as the light was revealed to be a dome-shape. Trails of bright light sped across the wooden floor and vanished from sight. Demyx could see it; a clear, transparent barrier stood where Roxas was last seen. The light began to fade. Demyx was back onto the ship again as he looked on with awe. It was impossible. Even with the power of Reflega, one use couldn't stop the power of a tidal wave. He looked closer.

"Sora?!" he said, shocked. He was right; Sora stood with each end of the Keyblade in hand and Roxas was in the same stance. Both of them used Reflega at the same time. They were both unharmed and stood frozen. Sora was the first to move; he lowered his Keyblade to his side and then Roxas did the same.

"Thanks," whispered Roxas. Sora turned to look at him and nodded. Demyx was just about to try and unleash another assault on them, but he suddenly felt his body let go and become unresponsive to the messages he sent them.

"What?" he asked. He fell onto his knees and desperately hung onto his sitar to stay up. His legs felt numb and his body felt tired. That attack drained him of a massive amount of energy and left him breathless.

"Let's finish this," said Roxas. He held his Keyblade up at Demyx. The Organization member was struggling to collect himself when someone appeared next to him, trails of darkness flying into the air.

"!"

It was Luxord. He looked stern, yet kept a cool air around him. He looked down at the exhausted Demyx and kneeled down. Demyx looked over at him, his vision becoming slightly blurry.

"Try that again and we'll be in need of another member who plays with a sitar," said Luxord, taking Demyx's arm. He pulled Demyx onto his feet; he was still dizzy and feeling faint. Luxord looked back over in Sora's direction and shot him a look; it almost looked like he expected Sora to be victorious. They both vanished in a flash of darkness. Roxas looked onward as another member disappeared. Jack, Donald and Goofy came out of hiding and saw that Sora and Roxas were alright. Donald and Goofy rushed up to him and began to apologize for leaving him behind, but Jack insisted they stay inside. He was quick on his feet.

"I'm going to go look for Will and get him out of there. Ta-ta!" said Jack, heading for the nearest boat. Sora laughed and Roxas smiled. Donald turned to Sora.

"What now?" he asked. Sora smiled.

"Let's go. We can let Jack handle the rescuing."

"Right; let's head to the next world," said Roxas. They both headed for one of the spare boats to use to get back to shore and on they went with their journey.

End of Chapter Seven


	8. Chapter Eight Royal Rumble

Chapter Eight Royal Rumble

After leaving the world of Port Royal, Sora and the others got into their gummi ship and decided onto their next destination. With the level of Nobodies increasing every minute, they decided to check on the status of the Queen at Disney Castle. With that, Donald inputted in the coordinates and they were warped to the castle in a few minutes.

"Now my eyes hurt from seeing all those colors," said Roxas, blinking a couple times. He looked outside of the cockpit to see that there were clouds in the sky, but not like in Port Royal; they were white and looked puffy like cotton balls. It was also sunny outside and he could see the lush green gardens of the castle. Various shapes and figures were cut out of large trees and shrubs. The castle itself stood within the center of the magnificent gardens; a tall, white structure stood proudly over the lands and was known simply as "Disney Castle". They landed within the gummiship hanger and headed outside into the garden.

"We're here," said Goofy, hopping out onto the grassy ground he knew all too well. Roxas almost forgot that Goofy and Donald had lived here before meeting Sora.

"Well, it looks fine from here," said Sora, examining the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary and all seemed quiet.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," said a voice suddenly. They were all startled and became alert. Sora turned around to where the voice's source seemed to be and saw someone familiar; it was Leon.

"Squall!" said Sora. He shot him an annoyed look. Leon didn't often like to be called by his real name. Behind him stood three other people; Cloud, who looked as unemotional as ever, Riku who stood crossing him arms and the King himself stepping out in front of Leon.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, waving. Donald and Goofy became energetic and anxious as they saw the King. They seemed to be very close to each other. It was when they reunited, someone unfamiliar to Sora appeared in between the two groups; it was a woman and she wore the garments of the Organization.

"Huh?!" uttered Sora. He saw her back was turned to him; she had short, blonde hair with two long strands of hair coming from the front and stretching to the back. He didn't recognize her.

"It's you!" cried Roxas. He balled his fists and gritted his teeth. He remembered her, but reluctantly admitted she was here, alive.

"Hey, who is she?" asked Sora, turning to face Roxas. The woman turned around at Sora's question and stood to face him. He sharp, green eyes pierced Roxas' as they glared at each other. She was the first to break the silence.

"Oh? You don't remember me?" she said almost sounding sad. Sora turned back to her and was about to respond when she interrupted, putting her hands to her face as if shocked.

"Oh, I'm so sad!" she said, drawing tears from her eyes down her cheeks. She suddenly frowned and her eyes became angry. She pouted her lip and crossed her arms as if impatient.

"Shut up!" shouted Roxas. She didn't move and she let his words slide in one ear and out the other. Sora spoke quickly before either of them began to argue.

"Can you answer my question?" said Sora. Roxas turned to face him and became calm, but still spoke with anger.

"Her name is Larxene. She's one of the more dangerous members of the Organization if you can't tell," said Roxas. When that name crossed Sora's mind, he suddenly felt his thoughts leave his head. The sight of the gardens and his friends melted away and the woman stood in front of him. He was alone with her in the darkness. She smiled and even giggled slightly.

"Now do you remember me?" she asked. Sora could see it; walls painted white with beautiful pictures engraved in them. His friends weren't with him, he was alone and her laugh…the frustration he felt! He held something in his hand, but what? It wasn't his Keyblade…it was flat and had a picture on it that seemed so familiar. What was it? He suddenly came back to reality and felt a little weak.

"Ugh…" he uttered as he fell onto his knees. Roxas, seeing this, went down and held Sora up. Donald and Goofy came back to his side. What was that?

"What's wrong, Sora?!" asked Donald. Mickey and the others were wary of Larxene as she began to laugh. Sora could remember it from somewhere…had he met her before? The flashbacks coming to him now were a bit overwhelming so he decided to shake it off.

"I'm done playing nice with you," she said in a hostile tone. With that, Sora drew his weapon and glared at Larxene. She shot him a look that could kill. Goofy raised his shield and Donald gripped his staff. Leon, Cloud, Riku, and Mickey drew their own weapons. Larxene was definitely outnumbered.

"That's not fair!" she said with a pout. Roxas was particularly angry with her. She was sarcastic as ever and he never liked that about her. He never really liked much about any of the Organization members…except maybe for…

"Fine, then I'll have to level the playing field," she said as she raised her hand. Within a moment, multiple portals of darkness appear in the air. Energy surged from them as Nobodies began to exit them. They were all surrounded by strange Nobodies that Sora had never seen before. Donald and Goofy were also surprised. They were small and thin and had no hands. In place of hands, they had sharp-pointed ends like the tip of a spear. They had no mouths or eyes and their legs were long and pointed. There were small wing-like parts on their backs as they zipped around the garden like hummingbirds around a flower. They also had a very light shade of yellow mixed with white. Their bellies had a sky blue color.

"What are these things?" asked Riku.

"These are my pets. I hope you'll enjoy spending time together!" she said as she laughed again. A portal of darkness appeared behind her and she stepped through, leaving her Nobodies, the Sonic Nobodies, to deal with Sora and Mickey's group.

"Let's take care of these guys quick and find the Queen," said Sora. The two closest to the group immediately flew forward, creating a sound like the fluttering of an insect's wings. With forearms in front, they crashed into Sora and Goofy at full force yet didn't seem to be phased by the resistance the both of them put up. Goofy almost lost his balance, but used this chance to toss his shield like a frisbee at the one that charged at him. He turned around and flung his weapon and it spun quickly towards its target. The Nobody was almost instantly dispatched by the attack.

"These things may be fast…" began Roxas.

"But they have terrible defense," finished Sora. They took a quick glance around themselves; to their left, a large cloud of Sonic Nobodies, to their right, Leon and the others fighting. Cloud sent many into oblivion with swings from his mighty Buster Sword. Riku fired a concentrated fireball in his hand. It was different than Donald's and Sora's; his was a light purple color.

"Dark Firaga!" he shouted. He threw his hand forward and a homing fire projectile shot out from it and impacted three Nobodies, exploding and incinerating them. The purple sparks disappeared in the air. But he was suddenly was struck from behind by another one.

"Riku!" shouted Mickey. The king moved with quick speed as he reacted to the Nobodies attack on his friend. With a powerful leap in the air he gave a mighty swing and it hit the Nobody square on the head. It crashed onto the floor and disappeared in a cloud of darkness.

"Sora!" shouted Riku. He turned to his injured friend and was about to run towards him when he spoke again.

"Sora, go find the Queen; with this many Nobodies, they're bound to be in danger," he said grimly. Sora looked over to Donald and Goofy. They both nodded. Mickey urged the four of them to go on as his group fought the onslaught of enemies.

"Where should we go?" asked Sora. He spoke quickly as they ran up the nearby stairs. Donald held onto his hat as they began to run down towards the nearest door.

"The library could be a good place to start," said Goofy. Sora crashed through the door and the loud banging sound echoed throughout the castle. Sora looked to his left and then to his right.

"This way!" cried Donald. He made an immediate left as he tried to sprint down the hall with the other three following. They passed by the huge walls that surrounded their path as Donald made a right turn past a corner decorated by a simple nightstand and a vase of flowers. In front of them, the path seemed to be endless. Sora could remember a place that was just like this. He couldn't put his finger on it and couldn't have a moment to think as they reached their destination. Large twin doors were in front of them and the Queen of the castle could possibly have been inside.

"Hurry!" urged Donald. Roxas and Sora nodded and them came forward and opened the doors.

"Whoa…" said Roxas in awe. In front of them stood a massive collection of books; they ranged from novels to simple "How to" books; poems and stories and all had a distinct color to them as they were arranged neatly in their respective places. But what caught their attention was not what was on the other side, it was what was in front of them; there stood Queen Minnie. She was dressed in a lovely and elegant pink gown and a jewel-encrusted crown adorned her head. Another person was with her; Daisy. She wore a dress almost like the Queen's except hers was a deep violet and had traces of blue. She, too, wore a crown.

"What are those?!" shouted Sora. Surrounding the Queen and her best friend were Nobodies, but these they hadn't come across as all. They had strange similarities to Dancer Nobodies, but were colored a light pink and had hints of white all over. In place of their hands were menacing blades like those of scythes. They moved about with an almost graceful manner; they would be known as the Glade Nobodies. The both of them looked towards the entrance and saw the group.

"Sora!" cried the Queen.

"Donald!" said Daisy. She sounded relieved to see her Donald return. Sora and the others drew their weapons for another battle. The Nobodies turned their attention to Sora and immediately recognized him and Roxas. The one closest to them began to sharpen its blades like a praying mantis watching its prey.

"We're here to help!" shouted Roxas. The first Nobody lunged at him with its forearms forward. He pulled his weapon out and tried to block it and was almost knocked off his feet. Donald raised his staff and a powerful Thundara spell made it stagger for a moment. Goofy leapt towards it and gave it a quick bash in the arm with his shield, sending it towards Sora. He aimed his Keyblade forward aiming right at the incoming Nobody.

"Fire!" he shouted. His weapon began to glow a faint red and suddenly a whirling field of dancing flames surrounded him. The Nobody met with it and was turned to ashes. Its body turned a dull, black color and vanished as the ashes fell onto the floor.

"Watch out, Sora!" cried the Queen. He turned to see two of them leap high into the air. Queen Minnie cupped her hands together in front of her with an aggressive look on her face. In the palms of her hands, a bright, white light began to form as she charged her attack. When it suddenly flashed, releasing a surplus of light, she pulled her hands back and then thrust them forward, tossing the ball of light. Before the two Nobodies could strike, the ball of light energy exploded, searing their bodies and causing them to shriek out in pain. There were only three left.

"There aren't so many like out in the garden," said Goofy. The Queen and Daisy were now with Sora's group facing the last three. Sora looked at Minnie and she caught his glance. She nodded and looked forward.

"Let's finish this," said the Queen.

"Here they come!"

The three Glade Nobodies immediately flew forward in a triangle formation, their forearms forward. Minnie took Sora's hand and the too off them waited for the enemies to get close and…

"Light…"

Minnie was suddenly lifted into the air by a mystical force and so did Sora. He raised her hand into the air and trails of light came upward from the ground surrounding them. The Nobodies were halted in mid-air by the brightness and strength of the light. Large silver orbs arose all around them of all sorts of sizes. The ground beneath Minnie and Sora emitted a wave of light before a powerful pillar of energy exploded upward, annihilating the Nobodies, reducing them to nothing.

"Wow…" said Daisy. She had never seen the Queen fight before and it was amazing at how much power she had. Donald laughed and quacked.

"We did it!" he said with a nasally tone. Both Donald and Goofy cheered for Sora and Minnie, but more for Minnie.

"Are you two alright?" asked Roxas. Daisy turned to him.

"We're both fine. They didn't try to hurt us," she said. Though, she had no idea who he could be.

"Who is this?" asked Minnie. She looked curiously at Roxas as though there was something about him she could tell was familiar.

"Ah, this is Roxas," said Sora. Roxas waved nervously at the both of them as they stared at him.

"Let's get back to why we're here," said Roxas, scratching the back of his head. Minnie nodded.

"The Nobodies have spread all around the castle," said Daisy. She turned to the Queen.

"Yes…"

"Where are they coming from?" asked Sora. Minnie looked up with a sudden realization.

"Oh no, that's right! They're all coming from the throne room!" she said. Sora could remember entering the throne room; the huge and spacious area that was where the King and Queen met with audiences. Though…his first visit was met with a infestation of Heartless, but he and the Queen were able to overcome them.

"Let's hurry, we have to cut the Nobodies off from the source, so let's get there now," said Roxas. He turned to leave through the doors they left open. Donald and Daisy followed with Goofy stumbling behind. Minnie looked at Sora, who seemed thoughtful.

"What is it, Sora?" she asked. He looked up at her with a frown.

"I'm not sure. There's something I think I know…but I just can't remember," he said, trying not to sound confusing.

"Ah…a lost memory?" she said, turning towards the door.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Well…perhaps helping us rid the castle of Nobodies will spark something," she said, giggling.

"Yeah, let's go."

And with that, they all headed towards the throne room where the siege of the castle had begun. Sora hoped that who he thought could possibly be there, would trigger something like the Queen had said before. He had to remember…somehow.

End of Chapter Eight


	9. Chapter Nine Wild Flower

Chapter Nine Wild Flower

Sora was busy trying to catch his breath as he dashed after his friends ahead of him as they roamed the long halls with the Queen's lead towards the aforementioned throne room in which the source of Nobodies seemed to be located. Minnie and Daisy were surprisingly quick as they moved with urgency and without hesitation. They suddenly halted to a stop.

"Is this it?" asked Roxas. He looked at what appeared to be two purple doors, but was unable to react when he turned his head up towards the ceiling where the doors stretched. They were humungous and he was struggling to think of something to say.

"Let's go inside," said the Queen. She took a step forward.

"Wait, how will we get through this monster?" asked Roxas. He was genuinely curious. Minnie giggled and turned to face the door.

"It's quite simple. Just like this," she said, knocking in the center of the right door. With that there was a small noise; it sounded like a click. For a few moments nothing happened.

"Are we supposed to wait for someone to open it for us?" asked Roxas. Before he could say anything else, a small section of the left door suddenly opened, scaring him with a loud noise. It was a much smaller doorway that was about the size of Goofy. It was convenient for them as no one could compare to Goofy's height in the castle. The Queen stepped through it with Daisy and Donald following. Sora went it next and then Goofy. Roxas carefully made his way through it and saw that his friends stood right in front of him looking straight down the room.

"Hey, what's everybody-?"

Across the incredibly large, white, and spacious room in which two equally awe-inspiring seats sat was a man. Sora immediately recognized him as apart of the Organization as he wore the black cloak. Donald already held his staff in hand and Goofy his shield. The Queen and Daisy stood behind the others. Roxas was able to take one look at him and suddenly a feeling entered his mind; it was a fiery anger and almost hateful feeling as he laid eyes on the pink-haired man.

"You!" he cried out, drawing his Keyblade. The man sat casually on the king's throne; one leg over the other, both arms resting on the sides leisurely with one holding up his head as if bored. With the entry of his expected guests, he seemed to be pleased with the rather early entrance. His eyes spotted out Roxas and he gave them a devilish grin. Sora studied his face before his head felt pain.

"What?" he said, feeling his legs give away. He fell down onto his knees and held his forehead. The same sinking feeling of losing important memories gnawed at him. Images began worming their way into his mind and gave him hints about the man who sat there in front of him. The same pale and eerie walls of a castle still lingered in his mind as he could see the man in an image. He looked at Sora as if he was nothing and he could've sworn he saw glowing pink petals from a flower glide through the air as the man hurled his scythe in his direction.

"Sora?" asked Minnie. Sora rubbed his forehead and stood up.

"It's nothing. Just a headache," he replied. He slowly helped himself up and turned to face the man, but there was no one sitting on the throne.

"Hey! He's-!"

Suddenly, a cloud of darkness erupted right in front of him and the man stepped through, surprising everyone in the room and causing them to back away. He swipes at Sora, leaving a pink trail of light where his hand left. Sora was unable to react as it suddenly exploded like a harmless flash bomb; a pink aura filled the air and blinded him. He fell back onto the ground, covering his eyes. The man laughed and leapt back.

"Sora!" cried Donald. He and Goofy hurried over to their friend's side and tried to help him up.

"Marluxia!" shouted an angry voice. Roxas balled his fists and glared at Marluxia. He merely chuckled at the sight of the boy.

"Well, it's nice to see you're still alive, Roxas," he said, putting on an impish smile. He ran his hand through his hair and crossed his arms.

"Of all the people I could've possibly found here…it had to be you!" said Roxas. Marluxia didn't seem to care much for Roxas' remark. Sora was up and walked towards Roxas, keeping a careful eye on Marluxia.

"Hey…who is this guy?" he asked. Roxas did not turn to look at Sora.

"Marluxia; he's another one of the dangerous ones. With Larxene helping him, he even tried to overthrow the Superior and take over the Organization," said Roxas. His eyes widened as he realized the name he said in the explanation; "the Superior"…

"Who might this traitor be?" asked Marluxia, taking a few steps forward.

"It's obviously you!" retorted Roxas.

"Oh really…was I the one who abandoned the Organization and left it to sink into the darkness?" he asked. Roxas was adamant.

"I still don't know why you were brought back, but I do know we have to get rid of you for good."

"Shut up."

Marluxia let his arms go to his sides and his eyes were on Roxas.

"You have no right to call me a traitor. I've had enough talking with the likes of you," he said, lifting his right arm into the air. After a moment, what looked like flower petals appeared all around him, descending down towards the red carpet. They suddenly were vacuumed into a black orb of surging darkness which he held in his hand. Sora, Roxas, Donald, and Goofy readied themselves as Marluxia summoned a rather large, pink-colored scythe into his hands.

"I'll get rid of you now!" cried Marluxia as he disappeared. Sora and Roxas ran forward towards the center of the room. Daisy began to worry for the Queen's safety.

"Let's leave, your majesty," she said, gesturing towards the door. Minnie looked back at Donald and Goofy.

"You two take care of Sora, okay?"

Donald and Goofy nodded before joining the other two in the center of the room. The Queen passed through the door. Daisy was about to exit before she turned and glanced at Donald.

"Be careful…" she whispered as she walked through, shutting the door.

"Show yourself!" yelled Roxas as he observed the entire room quickly. Sora had his back to Roxas, watching his back.

"Is he still here?" asked Donald as he halted before the two with Goofy. They were still on alert and were searching for any sign of his presence in the room. Roxas was frustrated and about to speak again, when he felt something wrap around his ankle.

"?!"

He looked down to see what appeared to be a rapidly growing vine. Many curling tendrils began to wrap around Roxas' legs and arms and flower petals appeared.

"Roxas!" shouted Donald. The vines shot out of the ground, enveloping everyone. They grew so quickly and without warning that everyone was lifted into the air and unable to act. Marluxia appeared again, but a couple feet above them in the air.

"Off guard, aren't we?" asked Marluxia, mockingly. Sora's Keyblade began to glow a faint red color.

"Huh?"

"Firaga!" he shouted. Flames appeared around him in a ring and spin around like a pinwheel, igniting the vines that came in contact with it. They were burned almost immediately and Sora was released from their grasp. Marluxia lunged at Sora and slashed at him with his scythe. Sora turned around and held his Keyblade in a defensive position, blocking the attack and hurling Marluxia a few feet back. He stood in place in the air and brought his scythe around him in a circle, hurling charged blades of pink light that homed in on Sora. He began to run towards his friends and dove behind the vine's base. The blades followed and sliced the tendrils from their base root, cutting off their life energy.

"You-!" muttered Marluxia under his breath. Donald, Goofy, and Roxas were freed and landed on their feet, with the exception of Goofy who landed on one foot and tumbled forward.

"Let's take him down!" cried Sora. He brought his Keyblade back and hurled it at Marluxia's direction, his weapon spinning around like a boomerang. He immediately reacted and smacked it away with the blade of his scythe.

"Thundaga!" shouted Donald. Electricity left the tip of his staff and a barrage of lightning bolts rained down in Marluxia and the area around him. It did not injure him too much and it only made him flinch. Roxas rushed in and slammed his weapon into Marluxia's back, sending him into the air. He jumped up after him and unleashed a furious wave of strikes with his Keyblade. Marluxia disappeared from sight in the middle of his attack, leaving a cloud of darkness to block his vision.

"What's this?!" he cried. He lost his momentum and landed on his feet. Marluxia reappeared a few feet behind Roxas and lifted his scythe high into the air. Darkness appeared beneath his feet and made a crevice in the floor. He began to spin in a vertical fashion and picked up speed, creating a large pink semi-circle with the blade. Roxas turned around to see what looked like a neon wheel speed towards him.

"Whoa!" he shouted as he tried to roll out of the way to his right. It misses, but barely. It sliced off a small portion of his hair. The wheel sped forward towards Donald and Goofy who stood their ground. Goofy brought his shield back and with all his might, slammed his shield right into Marluxia's scythe, causing him to stop his attack. Goofy was also forced down onto the ground due to the force of the scythe while it was moving. Donald caught the weak spot and raised his staff high into the air.

"Firaga!" he shouted. After those words diminished, a whirling ring of dancing flames erupted all around Donald. The flames made contact with Marluxia one at a time, like a very quick firing squad. With every touch of a flame, a burning sensation filled Marluxia, causing him to stagger back. He opened his eyes and smiled at Donald before bringing his scythe across at Donald. Though they did not make contact, a glowing, pink blade shot out from the scythe and crashed into Donald, throwing clear across the room.

"Ha! How I lost to your group last time, I don't know how it was possible!" he said in a mocking tone. Sora headed for Marluxia's direction, gritting his teeth in frustration for not paying close attention to his friends.

"Hold still and I'll beat you to a pulp!" he shouted. As he ran, something happened. Roxas could see it and so could Goofy, who was at Donald's side administering a much-needed Potion. Sora's very person became blurry as if a mass amount of magical energy was distorting the air. Suddenly, a flash of red radiated from him as he ran; the dark blues and black color of his clothes seemed to just melt away as they were replaced with a bold shade of red; it was his Valor form. Marluxia was not impressed.

"A change of clothes isn't going to help you in this battle."

"Yeah, but an extra Keyblade might."

Marluxia noticed in Sora's other hand with another Keyblade; it was white and ornate with what looked like a star-shaped decoration at the tip of the weapon. It was the Oathkeeper, a special keychain given to him by Kairi as they had another meeting underneath Merlin's house. Marluxia wasn't worried, but he knew Sora was angry now.

"Alright then, let's see what you can do, Sora," said Marluxia, propping his scythe upon his shoulders. Sora threw his Kingdom Key at him using his Sonic Raid attack. Just like a boomerang, it spun at him with quick speed. Sora, instead of waiting for it to return, began to rush at Marluxia with the Oathkeeper in hand. Marluxia rose into the air facing the incoming Keyblade in the air, raised his hand in front of him, and snapped his fingers. Three, luminescent flower petals appeared and disappeared. Before anyone could react, the room was suddenly filled with falling petals. He snapped his fingers again right after the spectacle and the entire throne room was suddenly hit with a great, whirling gust that forced the many flower petals to blur everyone's vision with a beautiful display of power.

"Aah! I can't see anything!" shouted Roxas as he covered his face to shield himself. Donald let out a loud quack as he began to run around blindly in a panic. Goofy propped himself against a wall with his shield covering his head.

"Where's the bad guy?!" cried Goofy. Sora was also forced to halt to a stop as the storm of petals ensued. The Oathkeeper was stopped in mid-air and was carried away with the wind. Marluxia silently moved through the maelstrom. It was like the attack merely passed through him as if they were imaginary. He could see through them as well. It was as if they were being plagued by phantoms. He casually walked over to where Goofy and Donald were with his scythe propped on his shoulders.

"How simple…" he whispered as he stood before Goofy, who still wouldn't dare to remove the shield from his face. Marluxia glanced over at Donald who was flailing about, trying his best to stay as calm and as balanced as he possibly could. Marluxia decided not to waste too much energy on them and held his hand towards the ground. Vines began to crack the marble-tile floor and sprout from them rapidly just like before, except they seemed to be growing in a certain pattern; it look as if it was making a sphere-shape around both Donald and Goofy, separately. There was an eerie black aura that was also beginning to engulf the two. They didn't even seem to notice. When the vines had made contacts with each other at the top of the sphere, nothing seemed to happen for just that moment. It was then Donald and Goofy were allowed to see through the attack and felt the sudden explosion of darkness that was executed the moment they realized it.

"Aah!" shouted Donald as he suddenly was knocked off his feet and up into the air before crashing onto the ground. Goofy was also forced into the wall with the force of the explosion and made a crack in the marble walls. He fell onto the ground and became unconscious. Marluxia turned towards Roxas who began to swipe vigorously and wildly at the flower petals.

"Marluxia, where are you, you coward!" he shouted angrily. Marluxia narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"I guess I have no choice. Time for my magnificent getaway," he said, closing his eyes. Sora was trying to search for any sign of Marluxia, but even the slightest peek would allow flower petals to cover his eyes. But then…he felt something change. The harsh, powerful wind that was whirling all around him felt…lighter. He could drop his arms to his sides and see again. Roxas felt this as well.

"I-it stopped…" said Roxas.

"Where is he?" asked Sora. He turned around and saw Donald and Goofy on the ground, both unconscious.

"Hey! Donald, Goofy, are you okay?!" he asked with urgency. He began to run towards them, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I can't believe how easy it was to fool you," said the voice. It belonged to Marluxia, who was confirmed to no longer be in the room.

"Heh, I guess I'll just have to wait until we meet again. I'll see you at Castle Oblivion," he said.

"Castle Oblivion…" said Sora in his mind. Roxas turned to him.

"Why does that sound so familiar?" he asked himself aloud.

"Of all people, you should remember. But, I guess you can't," said Marluxia, his voice echoing against the walls.

"Where is this castle?!" shouted Sora. The booming voice of Marluxia did not answer and the room was quiet for a few moments. Sora turned to face Roxas, hoping he had an answer.

"Sorry, Sora, I'm not sure where or what Castle Oblivion is, myself," he said, scratching the back of his head. Sora sighed. It was another dead-end for him; another mystery to solve. There was a sudden clicking noise that came out of the blue.

"Huh?"

The door opened and in came the Queen, Daisy, and the other four who were outside battling the endless stream of Nobodies.

"Sora!" shouted Mickey.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Leon. Sora and Roxas both nodded.

"But Donald and Goofy are…"

"Oh, Donald…" said Daisy. She sighed and began to walk over to him. He laid on the red carpet as if he was sleeping.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" she said to herself.

"We'll take care of their injuries," said Minnie. Sora nodded.

"You guys should leave when you're ready. We'll go onto the next world and search for clues," said Cloud, brusquely. He turned around and left. Leon followed him.

"Right," replied Roxas. Minnie walked over to Sora and Roxas, carefully stepping over the cracks and holes in the ground from Marluxia's malicious plants. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, for helping us," she said earnestly.

"It's our job," said Sora, laughing nervously.

"And you, too, Roxas," she said, nodding.

"Hmm…? Oh, right. You're welcome," he replied. His gaze went from the Queen back towards the throne in which Marluxia had sat upon when they first came into the room. He could remember Marluxia vividly and the reactions of the other members when they found out he was plotting a takeover. How he ever got along with Axel, nobody knows.

"Eh? Why am I…?"

He didn't know why, but he felt better when he thought of Axel, another Organization member. But he frowned. He was still a part of the Organization and he did vow to destroy them…

"Why am I thinking of this now?" he asked himself. The two of them were the best of friends. Though, he can't remember much, that's what he's been told…

"Friends…" he muttered under his breath. Even if they were friends before…it's true, that now, they were going to have to be bitter enemies.

End of Chapter Nine


	10. Chapter Ten Mimic

Chapter Ten Mimic

After some much needed rest and a farewell to the Queen, Sora and his brigade of friends got back onto their gummi ship and took off from Disney Castle. Roxas was quiet and seemed uncomfortable. It's been so long since he was his own self and not a part of Sora. Some memories stirred, even if he didn't want to recollect them. He was thinking of the time he met with some of the Organization members.

"Demyx and Axel…do they really want me to go back? Even so…I wouldn't even think of going back," he said in thought. He stared outside of the cockpit and watched as the colors flew by once again, signaling another world to be searched and old friends of Sora to be met. He didn't know any of them.

"Hey, Roxas, what's with the long face?" asked Goofy. Roxas turned to him and met his silly face.

"Nothing much, just a little bored," he replied. Sora was busy steering the ship through the path to the next world. He had already chosen along with Donald. Roxas was busy thinking and they could not get his input.

"We're almost at Halloween Town," said Donald. He and Goofy were feeling replenished after a night at Disney Castle. He was also happy to have been able to see Daisy again, though she did scold him after he woke up.

"That sounds like a creepy place," said Roxas. Donald and Goofy nodded.

"It's pretty much Halloween all year long there," added Sora. He turned around at Roxas and smiled at him.

"Besides, we might run into Mickey and the others there."

"Yeah…"

Sora turned around and looked towards the control panel's screen. There was a world in view.

"We're here."

The mesh of colors that surrounded the gummi ship began to fade and was replaced with an almost immediate splash of black and gray. Just like in Port Royal, the air of this place seemed a tad gloomy. They seemed to be in a graveyard with tombstones littering the ground. The cockpit opened and they all got out onto the ground. But…there was something amiss.

"This place seriously gives me the creeps, are you sure we'll…?" said Roxas. He turned to look at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but in their place was what he immediately registered as ghouls.

"What the heck?!" he cried, taking a step back. Sora turned towards him, a bit startled from his outburst.

"What's the matter?"

"Y-you're Sora…right?" he asked. Donald looked at him and laughed.

"Are clothes changed when we got here," he explained. Roxas looked at his hands and feet; there was nothing different from the usual casual outfit he wore. Sora's clothes were black and he had two, tiny dark wings protrude from his back. He seemed to have dark eyeliner around his left eye and a pumpkin mask covered his right. Donald was wrapped loosely in old, worn-out bandages like a mummy. His feathers stuck out and his eyes looked spooky, giving him a terrifying, almost mad air about him. Goofy, however, still looked goofy. With tattered, yet still colorful clothes, and two bolts sticking out the side of his neck, he still seemed as cheerful as ever.

"R-right," said Roxas.

"Let's go and look around," said Sora, snickering quietly. The four began to make their way around the musty graveyard towards a rather-large coffin that lay on the floor. It was large enough to fit at least three or four people.

"W-what are we doing?" asked Roxas, edging a little away from it.

"Since there's really nothing here, let's go to Spiral Hill," said Donald.

"But, shouldn't we look for a gate or someone who lives here?" asked Roxas.

"I still think it's weird, too. This coffin is like a path to the hill. It just sucks us in and we pop out the other end," said Goofy, trying to comfort Roxas. He nodded, still uncomfortable. Sora took a step up to the coffin, made a fist, and knocked on the lid. In a few seconds, the coffin suddenly slid open and the four were forced in without warning.

"Whoa!" cried Roxas as they were hurled into the darkness. He covered his face with his arms as they seemed to be flying through the air. After a moment, he felt himself fall onto the ground. He peeked out and saw that he was alright and that Sora, Donald, and Goofy were right there with him.

"You okay?" asked Sora. Roxas nodded slightly and he helped himself up. The ground was a strange shade of red and purple; it was like the color of the carpet back at Disney castle. There were tombstones around and they were set in a certain pattern. They all surrounded a large hill that was in the center of this section of the graveyard. It was curled like a strand of hair. Sora looked up at it and noticed a figure outlined by the light of the moon.

"Hey, someone's up there," whispered Sora. Donald and Goofy followed Sora's gaze up to the figure as well.

"Is he an Organization member?" asked Donald with hostility. The figure didn't seem to notice them and began to move slowly as if taking his time. He walked down the hill and onto the base. Sora and the other three dared to inch closer, their weapons drawn. When they got close enough, they realized that it was someone they knew; it was Riku. Sora was surprised and stood straight up, smiling.

"Riku!" he said, cheerfully. He did not seem to react to Sora. Sora thought he was just giving him the silent treatment, so he continued.

"What luck, I didn't expect to find you here," he said. There was still no reaction. Roxas stood behind Sora and looked curious. There was something off here.

"Why are you here?" asked Sora. There was a moment of silence before Riku made a sudden movement. His weapon, the Souleater, suddenly appeared and he lunged at Sora with it. He was caught off guard and was hit right on his left shoulder.

"Hey, what the heck-?!" he cried. He fell onto the ground from the powerful blow and held onto his shoulder in pain. Donald and Goofy were shocked at Riku's attack. Roxas held his Keyblade tightly in his hand and took his battle stance.

"What was that for?!" shouted Sora, angrily. Riku smiled and began to walk towards Sora and the others. With every step he took, darkness began to emanate from his footsteps and began to make a cloud of black around him.

"I have defeated and destroyed Mickey, Leon, and Cloud," he said with a dark tone. Donald's eyes widened.

"The King…?"

"And now, I'm here to destroy you, as well!" he screamed as he made a dash towards Sora with his weapon in hand. The darkness suddenly seemed to engulf him as he ran. The wind began to blow the darkness away and it revealed Riku as he was when he became a Heartless. Sora immediately reacted and struck Riku's feet with his Keyblade. Riku drove his weapon into the ground to stop him from falling. Sora scrambled to get up and away from him.

"What's this about?!" asked Sora. He could not believe that Riku had done any harm to the King and the others. It just couldn't be possible. He didn't doubt Riku at all. Something must be behind this.

"What do you think it was? That I'd actually come onto your side after I joined Ansem?" he said mockingly.

"I thought you were past that after I defeated him!" retorted Sora. Roxas rushed past him and attacked Riku, but it was barely blocked. Sora was anxious.

"Roxas, what are you doing?!" he asked. He got back up and looked at Roxas with an incredulous look on his face.

"This obviously isn't Riku, I can feel it," whispered Roxas. Riku could hear him, however.

"What would you know? You've been inside of Sora all this time. All of your memories are his memories and all of his actions are yours. How could you possibly know anything yourself?" he asked. Roxas took in what Riku said and looked down onto the ground. It was slightly true in a way. After Roxas had freed Sora they became one. He could only see through Sora's eyes as Sora. He felt anger, but was calm. Sora turned to him and hoped he wouldn't feel insecure about himself.

"I'm done talking. It's about time I got rid of all of you once and for all," said Riku, a dim, purple glow emanating from his hand. He threw his hand forward and a violet fireball shot out at Roxas. He looked up to see it coming, but Sora came into the fray.

"Reflega!" he shouted. At once, a mysterious, transparent barrier appeared around Sora and Roxas and the fireball merely bounced off of it and shockwaves trailed the ground from the impact.

"Sora?" he whispered.

"There's no time to be down and doubt yourself; Let's go and beat this fake to a pulp!" said Sora, giving Roxas a thumbs-up. He turned to Donald and Goofy who also nodded at him. Riku immediately lunged forward and struck at Sora, he was off guard and was knocked a few feet away. Donald aimed his staff at him and it became blue. Ice crystals shot out and froze Riku's shoulder partially. He jumped back, away from the group. Goofy raised his shield and tossed at Riku like a disc. He held his weapon in hand and then knocked it away with a strong slash.

"Fire!"

Riku turned around to see Sora, in the air heading towards his direction and before he knew it, flames engulfed his vision and he was hit. Sora landed on his feet and began to spar with Riku with quick strikes and dodges. After a few minutes, the two jumped backwards away from each other, each knowing that they were equally matched for now.

"Humph, is that all?" taunted Riku.

"Not even close," retorted Sora. Roxas walked over to Sora and stood next to him, his Keyblade in hand.

"Roxas?" asked Sora.

"I'm fine," he replied. Riku didn't let them speak any further and rushed at the both of them. Roxas blocked the attack with his Keyblade and stopped Riku in his tracks. Sora raised his weapon and slammed his Keyblade right into Riku's back. He cried out in pain and was sent forward, but landed on his feet. He was about to speak when a large, moving objects almost hit his head from his right. He turned towards the direction in which it came and saw Goofy.

"I'll get you," he said, charging another Dark Firaga. Before he could complete the spell, lightning suddenly shot out of the sky and distracted him.

"Don't forget about me!" said Donald. He aimed his staff at Riku.

"Donald!" shouted Sora, running towards him.

"Let's get him!" answered Donald. The both of them stood together. Riku smiled and his body suddenly began to glow an ominous blue color. He began to run towards the two of them and picked up speed. Sora and Donald were ready for him as he was lifted off of his feet and sped towards them. Donald quickly cast an Aeroga spell and everyone was shielded by a barrier of wind. Roxas and Goofy came together and headed towards Riku from behind. Sora began to rush at the incoming Riku and they both attacked each other at the same time, their weapons holding the other off. Both of their protective barriers disintegrated once they met and they threw each other back. Roxas came and send a mighty strike right to Riku's back causing him to cry out in pain and be knocked forward.

"Gah!" he cried. Donald jumped in and let a barrage of lightning bolts litter the ground, charging Riku with power currents of electricity. He was stunned and couldn't move.

"Watch out!" cried Goofy he suddenly jumped up high in the air. And made a diving pose with his shield forward and he descended right towards Riku. Unfortunately, Goofy couldn't very well maneuver himself in the air and barely missed Riku's back, but the force of the attack shook the ground and Riku was forced into the air and to his left. Sora was there, tightly gripping his Keyblade. Riku couldn't orient himself at the moment and could only brace for the impact as Sora raised his weapon.

"Whoever you are, don't you ever try to frame my friends, because I'll always know…who they are!" he shouted. And with that he swung his Keyblade with all of his might and it collided with Riku's side. The moment they made contact, there was a sound; it almost sounded like glass breaking from a distance. Suddenly, a black cloud of darkness erupted from Riku's body and he was no longer visible. Sora took a step back, covering his face. Donald and the others began to rush to Sora's side. Then, someone dropped down from the black cloud and it was not Riku; it was the impersonator. He had blue hair with one side long enough to cover the entire right side of his face and he wore the signature cloak of the Organization. He held his side as he struggled to get on his feet.

"I knew it. It couldn't have been Riku. Who are you? What did you do to Riku?" demanded Sora. The man looked up at him with a rather angry and exasperated expression adorning his face. He narrowed his eyes and began to speak.

"I am Zexion and for your information, I have done nothing to him. I merely took on his appearance," replied the man. Roxas recognized him immediately and readied his Keyblade. Donald and Goofy were not aware of this and couldn't tell who it was that suddenly sprinted forward with a weapon in the air. He was about to lay the last blow on Zexion when…

"Hey! Sora! Donald and Goofy! Is that really you?" asked a voice from afar. Roxas turned to see who it was and stopped. Sora and the other two also looked to see who it was and there was a rather tall and skinny figure waving to them from a pair of gates. Zexion lowered his head and focused with the last remaining power in him at the moment and disappeared in a flash of darkness. Roxas heard the sound of something pop and then melt away and saw that his target was gone. This put him in a furious and frustrated mood and he grabbed his Keyblade with both hands and angrily threw it on the floor, the metal causing it to bounce off with a loud clang. He stormed over to the figure that had made his way to Sora and began to yell with a loud and booming voice.

"What is wrong with you?! I was so close! Why did you have to come and distract me?!" he asked. Before he had begun to shout, he didn't get a very good look at the man's face. Now that he had a moment to examine him he realized the man's head was a pale, ghostly white and there was no hair on his head. He saw a pair of empty sockets where a person's eyes should be and two rows of sparkling, white teeth smiling at him; he was a skeleton. Roxas took a step back, his mouth upon from his sudden realization.

"Jack!" yelled Sora. He cheerfully waved at his Halloween friend he waved back. Donald and Goofy also greeted Jack and the group gathered to speak with one another.

"Jack, how have you been?" he asked.

"I've been doing great! But right now something's up. But before I tell you, who might this be?" asked Jack as he turned towards Roxas.

"Oh, yeah, this is Roxas. He's a good friend of ours, too," said Sora. Roxas nodded.

"S-Sorry for yelling at you…" he whispered. Jack smiled.

"That's okay. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry. Oogie Boogie's back!" exclaimed Jack.

"Again?" asked Donald. He groaned.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel just don't know when to stop," said Jack.

"Let's go teach those troublemakers a lesson!" said Goofy, saluting.

"Right! I was following the three when I ran into you guys. Follow me!" said Jack, gesturing for them to come. The group followed the Pumpkin King out of the courtyard and towards what looked like an entrance by the graveyard's gates.

"This is where we're going?" asked Roxas with a bit of hesitation. He swallowed and then reluctantly followed them into the darkness of the tunnel.

End of Chapter Ten


End file.
